A Chance Encounter
by FalconStorm
Summary: The seal is broken, the last Hellsing dead. After over a hundred years of servitude, Alucard is free, but is freedom what he really wanted all along? Alexis is a woman with a dark, painful past. When a chance encounter gives her a blunt introduction to the supernatural, what will she do with the infamous vampire fate drops into her lap? AxOC. Character death.
1. Ch 1: A Chance Encounter

** Summary: The seal is broken, the last Hellsing dead. After over a hundred years of servitude, what is Alucard to do with his freedom? Is it freedom he even sought to begin with? Total self service, but hopefully with some plot and decent characterization. *grin***

** Heehee, what can I say? This is probably going to be pure, unadulterated Mary Sue. All I can say is it is being written after midnight on New Years when I am completely wasted. Dunno if it will be a oneshot or not. We'll see what people think. Just so everyone knows, I'm posting this while still inebriated. Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker? Umm…hiding now. Please, review. I'm dying to know if my writing even makes sense when I'm totally wasted.**

**Disclaimer: Hellsing isn't mine, although, when I'm drunk, I can pretend, right? No money made off of this…err…exercise in befuddlement.**

**A Chance Encounter**

Champagne in dusty wine glasses. Midnight is past and he didn't even notice. Another year gone by, but who is there to care? The scent of damp earth and decay on the breeze. Alucard knelt in the Hellsing cemetery, head bowed before a grave. Integra Fairbrooke Wingates Hellsing. How long had it been? Eventually time held no more meaning, full of memories best left in the past. A slave no longer, he thought he had what he wanted. Freedom. But what is freedom? He should have offered her eternity. But she would not have accepted. Not his iron maiden.

A cold breeze whipped the strands of his pitch black hair. Still, he affected the blood red coat that man had worn…how long ago? Too long. Years of triumph, years of defeat. A million and more lives lived and lost. And still he persisted. What was life without meaning? Did he then, not live? Questions annoyed him. Blood called, the only champagne that mattered. The ambrosia of human veins. Tonight, he would hunt. It had been too long since he tasted that elixir. Too long since he cared.

Rising from the grave, sunken and old, grown over with grass and weeds, he looked to the star studded sky and closed his eyes, dissolving into a mass of flapping bats. He whirled around the cemetery, disturbing nothing more than the ephemeral mist of fleeting human spirits. He knew none of them. Only one would have mattered, anyway.

Seeking warmth and comfort, he abandoned the empty Hellsing grounds, on the market for a decade and more. Who might care about the mouldering remains of a family that had served the royal line faithfully for a century and more? Everything dies, with time. Even loyalty.

V^^^V

Alexis shivered in the night, bleary eyes tired from too little sleep and too much alcohol. Why was she wandering the empty streets of London? Oh yeah. Her date had abandoned her…for the blonde with the quadruple D's. Bitch.

She stumbled, frowning as she squinted across the street. Hadn't she been headed home? This wasn't the right direction. Or, wait…maybe it was. Looking around, she spotted a pair of men eyeing her from down the street. Maybe they could help. Her apartment was on…what? She fetched up against a brick wall, trying to figure out how she got there.

"Hey, baby. Lost yer way?"

That wasn't a good tone of voice. They wanted something…something she didn't want to give. Not good. Help? Did she need help? No…not yet. Was there even anyone to give help?

"Leave me alone." The words slurred out of her throat, giving away her inebriated state. One of the men grinned, crooked teeth gleaming in the distant street light. A cat wandered out of an alley, cream and black with light reflecting gold from its pupils. It eyed the humans, evaluating them. Deciding they weren't a threat, it sauntered down the street, seeking out a meal. Alexis watched it go, imagining it had human intelligence, the ability to determine that what approached her was a danger, inappropriate, and worthy of assistance. Although, what could a cat do?

Shaking her head in an attempt to clear the random thoughts, she lurched to the side, trying to change direction, go back the way she came. Laughter echoed up and down the street.

"Look at this drunk bitch. Nice piece of ass. Not enough tit, but that's okay. Take what we can get, eh?"

Another, higher pitched chuckle joined that one. Not good. Alexis tried to sprint down the street, but her legs didn't want to cooperate. Hands grabbed her, holding her up…but less helpful than they seemed. They roamed over her front, down to the cleft between her legs. The skirt she'd worn for her date in hopes he might like what he saw…much too inadequate to halt those roaming hands.

"No! Let me go!"

The men laughed, one of them giggling with a high-pitched, mad sound. They weren't listening! Hands roamed and she tried to push them off, lurching from one set of hands into another. Somehow, they ended up where they didn't belong. She didn't know them. How dare they roam there?

Taking a deep breath, she bowed to the final resort of every threatened female. She screamed at the top of her lungs. A hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her scream.

"None of that, now, bird. Wouldn't want the bobbies finding us before the fun's over with, would we? That's a good girl." She writhed as a wriggling tongue licked over her ear, sending a disgusted shudder through her body and making her stomach heave with revulsion.

Panic kicked in and she thrashed, trying to bite the hand clamped over her mouth. She clawed at whatever flesh she could get her hands on. Her assailant cursed and threw her to the ground. Descending on her, he backhanded her, turning her head and sending stars reeling through her vision. She blinked, stunned and unable to fight the hands that roamed across her person, stripping clothing and fondling areas no stranger should have access to.

"Desperate wretches. Can you find no _willing_ woman to sate your hungers? Pathetic _boys_!"

That wasn't a voice that belonged to one of her assailants. She blinked blearily up at the dark figure emerging from the shadows of the alley. A distant street light picked out a red coat with matching wide-brimmed hat on a frame so tall it towered over both of her assailants by almost a foot. The distant light reflected off of orange lenses hiding the eyes of her rescuer…if rescuer he was. Something about the man screamed a danger as great or greater than those whose hands roamed loathsomely over her person.

A wide grin split that darkened face, white teeth gleaming in the distant light. Were those? No. Surely not. Just a dental defect. And yet, he…it?...descended on her attackers with fangs bared, snarling with sadistic glee. One attacker screamed like a frightened girl and fled down the alleyway. The other thrashed in the grip of the monster, nothing but strangled gurgles emanating from his throat.

Alexis watched in fascinated wonder as the creature gnawed at her assailant's throat. It had happened so quickly. One moment, filthy hands roamed over her person, and the next, one assailant fled while the other died to the fangs (fangs?!) of her rescuer. Darkness engulfed the street and her breath caught on a shocked inhale as red eyes opened all over the darkened surfaces. Black tendrils covered the man whose hands had roamed at leisure over her body. He convulsed as he disappeared beneath the writhing mass of hungry…what _were_ those anyway?

Her thoughts smothered under the effects of the liquor and the impossible sight in front of her. The man disappeared as she watched, limbs twitching and fingers clenching in impotent fear as black tendrils smothered him and then writhed back from the absent corpse, leaving nothing of the kill but a faint splotch of red on the brick wall. The thing…her rescuer? Or just another demon intent on devouring her? It rose to an impossible height, looking down on her with red, glowing, snake slit eyes. Hadn't there been lenses before? Orange surfaces to protect the unknowing world from the demonic scheming in those unholy eyes?

She rose on shaky legs, no match for that unnatural height, but glaring up into those inhuman eyes. A smirk twisted those strangely beautiful features as hands reached for her, lips peeling back from glistening fangs.

"Unhand me, you monster!"

The hands froze, to her utter surprise. Those red, demon slit eyes scowled down at her and something twisted in those features. The black tendrils writhed back into the monster's body, the eyes winking closed. He glared down at her, seemingly nothing more than a man in a red duster, a wide brimmed fedora casting an impenetrable shadow over most of his face.

"Master?"

That voice could make angels weep for joy. Alexis swayed where she stood, wondering if she was already dead, her body defiled at the hands of the human devils that had assaulted her. Had Hell's fallen angels come to collect her? No. That was the liquor talking.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm no one's master."

Those red eyes narrowed. Something flickered behind them…memories? Pain? Need? Too intense. She looked away, in no state of mind to handle such an encounter.

"Take me home."

She had no idea where that demand came from. Who was she to command this creature? And yet…he blinked, scowling, and then he shook all over, like a dog coming out of the rain. Dropping to one knee, he crossed a hand over his chest, head bowed. She gaped down at him.

"Where is 'home', my lady?"

"Uh…Shadow Ridge. Corner of All Soul's Avenue and Hardinge Road. Apartment 102." Why did she tell him that? He could stalk her, now. Would he do that? No time to wonder. He rose to his feet, scooping her up in his arms, her back nestled against one arm while the other held her under the knees. He cradled her against his chest, his skin strangely cold. She shivered as he took off into the night, setting a pace no human could ever dream of maintaining.

She was dreaming. She must be. In minutes, they passed from downtown London to her apartment, several blocks away. Definitely a dream. White knights didn't exist in reality. Okay, dark knights…but still. This didn't happen in reality. Reality would see her beaten and raped in an alleyway, if she survived the night's fiasco at all. The strong shoulder against her cheek and cool arms that cradled her like a precious thing…this was the dream. Surely. She daren't hope that the impossible rescue could be real. Maybe she would wake to find the whole night some strange conglomerate of nightmare and wet dream. It seemed the only explanation that made sense.

The creature set her on unsteady feet outside the door to her apartment. She looked up at his towering frame, watching her expectantly. What did he want? What did he expect from her? Shrugging, she retrieved the keys from her tiny purse, inserting the proper one into the deadbolt on her door. It clicked open, revealing the sparse white room beyond. A part of her wanted to rush inside and tidy the discarded jeans on the back of the couch and dishes from yesterday's dinner before her inhuman guest entered, but this was a dream…right? Why should she care about the condition of her home? Why should she care, even if this was reality? This was _her_ home. If he didn't like it, he could take a long walk off a short pier.

Giggling at the visual of his tall frame blundering into a sudden drop in the Thames, she sailed into the room, setting her keys and purse on the small bar that separated the kitchen from the living room. A one bedroom, the place wasn't much to look at, but it was hers, paid for with the toil of her own efforts. No one could take it from her…theoretically. The creature paused on the threshold, watching her with expectant red eyes.

"Well, aren't you coming in?"

"Is that an invitation?"

"I suppose. Yes."

He entered the room, then, closing the door behind him. How curious. Something about that need for an invitation tugged at her memory, but it wouldn't coalesce. The liquor running through her veins made higher thought a challenge, if not a total impossibility.

"What's your name?" Might as well get that, now. It would make for an interesting journal entry when she woke in the morning. He tilted his head at her, black hair falling across his features and hiding one red eye. Where was the hat? Hadn't there been a hat?

"What name do you want? My human name? My reborn name? The name my last master called me by?"

"Let's go with the last master's name." Why not? This must be a dream, and if so, she much preferred to be the master. Did that even make sense?

"Alucard. She called me Alucard."

Alexis nodded, smiling in bemusement as the liquor seemed to engulf her mind and her knees buckled as darkness stole over her. Cool arms caught her, lifting her inert body and carrying her to the bedroom. Soothing darkness eased her aching eyes. Dreaming. Definitely dreaming. Her back settled into the cushion of her bed and her mind slipped away in the heavy sleep of total drunkenness.


	2. Ch 2: Acquiring a Roommate

**Okay, after percolating on this a bit, I think it might actually go somewhere. (Don't forget, this was originally created in a drunken haze. But it was a **_**fun**_** drunken haze.) I've got some history for Alexis that might actually lead to a plot.**

**As stated previously, this will most likely be pure, unadulterated Mary Sue, but Imma try to make it amusing at least and somewhat well written with logical plot lines and character actions. If that makes any sense. I make no guarantees on keeping Alucard in character. I'll do the best I can, but I AM taking into account that over a century of servitude and then losing a human that he cared about as much as or possibly more than Mina could change him in some ways. That's just logical.**

**Also, please be aware that at this time, my priority is The Formative Years, so updates for this fic may be rather irregular. I apologize in advance to anyone that just falls in love with this fic and feel free to beg for updates via reviews. That will probably spur me to write more. I get more words down when I'm energized by positive feedback. True story. *nods***

**Chapter 2: Acquiring a Roommate**

Alexis woke with a raging headache. She groaned and rolled over, blinking at the twilight darkness in her bedroom. Why was there a coffin in her room? She scowled at the incomprehensible sight. Everyone she knew had died a long time ago. Had someone come back to haunt her? Maybe it was Jared. The bastard deserved it after abandoning her last night. Oh god. Last night…

Gasping, she sat up in bed, remembering the impossible events of the previous night. Who had rescued her? Surely not that…thing. But her mind wouldn't offer up anything else. And there was the coffin.

"This can't be happening." Her words seemed to echo in the darkness although the acoustics in her room weren't right for it. She looked around again, feeling like this must be a lucid dream, but even being aware of it didn't break the scenery. She didn't wake.

Scowling, she climbed out of the bed. She still wore the same short skirt and v-neck blouse she'd donned for her date the night before. That didn't bode well for her dream theory.

Biting her bottom lip, she padded across the floor to the coffin. Kneeling down, she wedged her fingers under the lid and lifted. It had no hinges, and although it was heavy, it slipped to the side as soon as the far edge cleared the lip of the coffin. She gasped as it clattered off to the side, revealing a black haired, red-clad body inside.

She knew that face. It'd had fangs the night before and had eaten one of the men trying to rape her. No. Not possible. Just a dream that she couldn't wake up from.

The red eyes opened.

Yelping, Alexis leaped back from the coffin's side, her heart pounding. Why had she opened the damn thing anyway? It had seemed a good idea at the time…and this was a dream anyway, right?

The body didn't move. The scarlet eyes stared at the ceiling, unblinking. After a moment, they drifted closed again.

Okay. So…she had a vampire in her bedroom.

Oh, that sooo didn't sound right. She should probably be shopping for a mental institution right about now. What would they diagnose her with? Dementia, probably. Or schizophrenia. Oooo…_paranoid_ schizophrenia. That sounded like loads of fun.

Biting her lip, she decided to do what any sane, self-respecting prey animal would. She scurried out of the bedroom and hid in the kitchenette. With her back wedged up against a cabinet and her toes pressed against the bottom of the refrigerator, she held her cell phone in her lap and stared at it. She should probably be calling someone for help...but who?

Pulling up a text message, she picked out her last conversation with Jared. He hadn't said anything to her since last night, not even to check and see if she got home okay. Could she keep the thing in her bedroom from eating her if she offered up last night's date as a sacrifice? It was terribly tempting. Jared certainly deserved it. But…no. Or at least, she'd keep it as a last resort. After all, she didn't want Jared thinking for even a moment that she needed anything from him.

"If you're going to hide, it should probably be _inside_ something."

Alexis yelped, clutching the phone to her chest. She looked up to find glowing red eyes staring at her from behind long, spiked black hair. She swallowed hard, wondering if she should have sent that text to Jared after all.

The vampire grinned at her, fangs showing as he clearly enjoyed her discomfiture. That did it. How _dare_ he frighten her and then _laugh_ at her about it?

Scowling, she scrambled to her feet and put her hands on her hips.

"Don't give me that smirking look, you monster. You _ate_ someone in front of me, _dared_ to consider laying fang on me, and then just decide to move into my apartment without so much as a by your leave." She advanced on him, shoulders back and chin up in the most belligerent stance she could manage. "I _demand_ an apology. And rent, if you intend to stay."

The monster's red eyes widened, the grin spreading wider across his face. At least _someone_ was amused. When he just stood there, grinning like a madman, offering up neither apology nor cash, she bared her teeth and took one last step to close the distance between them, fists clenched at her sides. She glared up at him from bare centimeters away as he gazed down on her, the grin melting into an amused smirk.

Damn. How tall _was_ this guy? A small voice in the back of her head screamed that she really should get back to that whole fleeing and hiding business, but she pushed it aside. Somehow, she didn't think it would work on this…vampire.

"Wipe that smirk off your face," she said, lifting a hand to poke him in the chest. It felt like poking a fleshy marble statue. "I am _not_ amused. You've invaded my home, cornered me in my own kitchen, and…"

"And what?" He reached out to grab her, twisting them so she fetched up with her back against the arched opening to her kitchenette. He loomed over her, fangs showing in that manic grin. "What will you do if I refuse your orders?"

Alexis glared up at him, wracking her brain for a course of action, but she came up blank. She had no power over him. She couldn't hurt him, physically or emotionally. This was a…she could only guess how old…sadistic monster fully capable of murder, obviously without remorse. By all rights, she should be cowering in the corner, begging for her life, but now that her anger had triggered that fatalistic obstinacy that always got her in trouble, she couldn't bring herself to back down from him.

She reached up to grasp his cravat and tugged, trying to pull him down to her level but had more success in pulling herself up onto her tip toes.

"I can piss you off until you kill me, die with dignity and deprive you of your new toy."

No, it wasn't the best survival tactic, but then, self preservation wasn't exactly her forte. The vampire arched an eyebrow at her and the smirk widened back into a grin. A low chuckle bubbled up out of his chest. It seemed so wrong for that laugh to tug at things low in her body. She should be shaking in terror of him, not turned on by his mocking chortle.

"Rent, I can manage, once I access some funds. An apology…well…let's call it even, considering I _did_ save your life last night."

Alexis glowered at him, but had to admit he had a point. And, hell, she had really been kidding about the whole rent thing. She wasn't supposed to have anyone else living in the apartment with her. She could, technically, get evicted if the management found out…not that they really cared, so long as the police didn't get called out and the rent showed up on time. But…did she _want_ a vampire living with her? She looked up into those sly, red eyes. Did she have a choice?

"Fine, but that means we're even. I don't owe you anything for last night."

The vampire…Alucard. Best get used to calling him by his name if he was sticking around. He laughed again, that creepy grin spreading across his face.

"I don't know if that means you value your life so little or an apology from me so much," he said.

"Something in the middle, I'm sure." Alexis released his cravat and he stepped back, once again standing at his full height as he looked down on her. Definitely too damn tall. "Now, I'm getting a shower. _I_, at least, have to go to work."

Alucard smirked but didn't move, instead holding out his hand.

"What?" She glared up at him, crossing her arms.

"Your phone. If I am to enter human society again…which will be necessary to procure your 'rent'…I will need to obtain the trappings of society. That includes contacting the banks and law firms that manage my trusts. It's probably best if I do that before you leave, since I assume you'll be taking your phone with you."

Alexis glared at him, not at all certain she wanted to release her phone to his tender mercies, especially while she couldn't see what he was doing with it, but if he was serious about paying part of her rent… She needed the money. Even working two jobs, she sometimes struggled to make ends meet.

"Don't go into _anything_ private. No texts, no pictures. I'm _trusting_ you." She pushed her phone into his hand. He smiled and bowed, moving out of her way.

"As you command.

V^^^V

The shower did wonders for her headache…although that might have been the pain killers she gulped down before jumping in. It also gave her time to think about her new circumstances. She had enough trouble wrapping her brain around the idea that she now had someone living with her, much less that the someone wasn't at all human…and happened to be male. At least he was easy on the eyes. Scowling, she shook that thought out of her head. She soooo did not need to head down that particular road. How, exactly, had she gotten herself into this?

Okay, so the thinking didn't really help. Stepping out of the shower, she wrapped her hair up in a towel and opened the door to her room. Alucard looked up from his perch on the edge of her bed, taking in her damp, _nude_ form. Alexis blinked, her mind taking a moment to work through the ramifications of having a new roommate in a one bedroom apartment.

With an outraged screech, she slammed the door again, putting her back to it as she turned a curious shade of red. The impish chuckle from the other side of the door did not help matters any. Marching to the linen closet, she pulled out another towel and wrapped it around herself, trying to channel her acute embarrassment into a more acute case of rage.

Tucking the towel in as securely as she could, she marched back to the door and yanked it open. Not surprisingly, the infuriating creature on her bed hadn't moved, his red eyes dancing with humor.

"New ground rules," Alexis said, crossing the room and glaring down at the vampire. She put her hands on her hips, praying the towel didn't slip. "When the female is in the shower, the vampire stays out of the bedroom." Alucard's grin widened as his eyes glistened with impish delight. "_And_ the bathroom. Pervert. Get out!"

Laughing, Alucard rose, bowed, and left the room, closing the door behind him. He didn't say a word, but then, he didn't need to. She knew very well that he'd gotten an eyeful and nothing she did could undo it.

Alexis opened her closet, pulling out clothes as a blush crept up her cheeks again. The bastard could probably smell the blood rushing just under her skin.

Damn vampire.


	3. Ch 3: Better Left in the Past

**So, the last chapter was highly humorous. This chapter is decidedly…not. Please be warned this is a sad, sad chapter. I *like* it, but it is sad. I think this whole fanfic is going to end up being a polyglot of comedy and tragedy. I can pretty much guarantee an eventual happy ending for Alucard and Alexis, though. I don't know if I could stand to do otherwise after what I did to Alucard here… o.O**

**Chapter 3: Better Left in the Past**

Alexis struggled with the lock on her front door, cursing the stiff mechanism. She'd been meaning to request a new one for almost three months, now. There just never seemed to be enough time. Finally, the stubborn thing turned with a loud grating sound and she burst through the door, stumbling across the threshold. Slamming the door behind her, she dropped her purse on the couch and headed for the bedroom, unbuttoning her blouse as she went. Passing through the doorway, she stopped and stared at the coffin sitting next to her bed.

Oh, yeah. She had a roommate, now. Scowling, she held her unbuttoned blouse closed and glared around the room.

"Alucard? Alucard, are you here?" No answer. "You better not be screwing with me, monster. Seriously, if you're here, speak up!" Still no answer. Just to be sure, Alexis knelt next to the coffin and nudged the lid over. Empty. So, he wasn't here. But he planned to be back? Surely, he wouldn't have left the damn coffin otherwise. But wait…if he wasn't here, and the deadbolt on the door was locked… She knew she hadn't left him a key. She didn't have an extra one. One tenant, one key.

Damn it, she didn't have time to puzzle it out. Today was Friday and she only had an hour and a half to change, grab a snack and get to her second job. Closing the bedroom door for the first time since she'd moved in, she stripped and pulled out her waitressing uniform. Jamming her legs into the hose and black skirt, she slipped her shoes on and pulled the low-cut shirt over her head. She tucked it in, grabbed her apron and an energy bar before heading back out the door.

She reached for her keys to lock up behind her and realized she left them and her purse inside. Cursing, she hurried back, grabbed the missing items and slammed the door closed, twisting the recalcitrant lock closed behind her.

V^^^V

Alucard paused outside the apartment door, sniffing the air. She had been here, but her scent was stale by several hours. Checking for witnesses, he phased through the door and looked around his new home. It was hardly the vast basement room of the Hellsing estate, but it wasn't the cramped crypt he'd been using since Integra's death, either. He winced, his mind skittering away from memories of his old master. They said time erased all pain. They lied. Time, alone, did nothing. It only marched inexorably on, cold and uncaring.

The vampire crossed the living area and into the bedroom, scowling at the lid of his coffin, resting against the floor. That had to stop. She had no business touching his coffin. For any reason.

Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all. This apartment wasn't nearly as safe as his crypt. Even with locks on the door, the chance of a random thief disturbing his sleep during the day increased with his proximity to the living. And then there was the girl. He'd planted a subliminal suggestion in her drunken brain, restricting any desire she might have to take any sort of lethal action against him. Of course, that only worked so long as the suggestion held.

Once again, he asked himself why he sought human company, why he desired to interact with the waking world on anything more than a predator to prey basis. Boredom? Definitely. And yet…there were other, less dangerous ways to assuage boredom. One did not survive for over half a millennium through recklessness. Why this?

He crouched to set the lid of his coffin in its proper place, knowing full well the true answer to his questions. He could hardly stand to admit it to himself and would deny it if anyone else confronted him with it, but in the depths of his soul, he knew. He was lonely. Unable to face the events surrounding their master's demise, Seras had fled overseas to the new world. Well, not so new anymore, but most definitely _not_ Europe.

She'd placed an ocean between them, and he couldn't say that he mourned that. Not after what she'd done…what she'd forced him to do. He blinked, grimacing as the memories seized him, like a bone in the mouth of a hound.

_A horde of silent bats winged its way across the darkened landscape, racing over the tops of trees and buildings. Behind the swift creatures, a blond, female glided through the darkness, buoyed through the sky by the shadows that writhed over her body like the wings of the great dragons of legend. Red lights flashed in the distance, drawing them like a beacon._

_ Seras landed in the shadow of the ambulance, rushing to the stretcher next to the smoking mass of twisted metal that had been the Hellsing Bentley once upon a time. Paramedics worked over the body, desperately trying to stabilize the faltering heartbeat. A sheet covered a second body, the car's driver declared dead on arrival._

_ Alucard followed her, his crimson eyes going to the still form of his master, fighting for life even as it flowed in a red river from the gashes covering her chest and side. He cocked his head, listening to the faltering heartbeat and he knew the medics worked in vain. Integra Fairbrooke Wingates Hellsing would never open that piercing blue eye again. Seras seemed to realize that fact at the same time he did. She snarled, a sound so guttural and animalistic it made him jerk in surprise. He'd never heard such a sound from her. It would have made him proud had they faced an enemy they had any hope of defeating. She whirled on him, eyes flaring red with rage._

_ "Save her, master! She always kept herself pure! You can turn her!"_

_ Alucard's eyes narrowed on his fledgling, knowing that in her pain, she did not think. She did not remember the pride and dignity of the head of the Hellsing organization. She could not work past her grief to recall the stalwart resolution Integra had clung to, the determination to remain human. Always human._

_ Closing those sharp red eyes, the ancient vampire drew in a deep breath, taking in the scent of his master, savoring it. Exhaling, he turned his back on the scene and walked away, slipping through the cars blocking the road and down the sidewalk, the shadows engulfing his towering form. Behind him, his fledgling screamed, pouring pain and grief into the night._

_ He felt his master die, felt her lungs take their last breath, her heart stutter into stillness. The bonds that had held him for over a hundred years shattered as the last Hellsing passed into that eternal night. He lifted his hands, gazing on the black symbols that had held him prisoner for so long, now inert and lifeless. The power that had lain dormant under the seals burst forth, pulsing through his veins with wild abandon. He felt the lives, the souls he had feasted on roiling just beneath the surface of his skin, ready and waiting for him to access the power they offered. No more did he have to reach down that line of control, beg permission to access what was rightfully his, power gathered and honed by his own will and determination. He was free. Free._

_ Crimson tears spilled down his face as he stared at the inert symbols on the backs of his gloves, the power and freedom cold comfort against the gaping hole that had opened in his soul. His fingers closed, tightening within the gloves that had housed the power of the Hellsing seal for decades. His head fell back, eyes glaring up at the empty, soulless sky. There were no words for the aching knot that closed his throat, blocking the howl of rage and pain that threatened to burst forth._

_ Behind him, the screaming began._

_ Whirling, the vampire shoved the knot of pain into the hole in his soul where his memories of Mina and his human life resided. Closing that hole off with a supreme twist of will, he sprinted between the buildings and down the sidewalk. Humans fled, screaming, from the scene of the accident. Blood covered bodies sprawled between the ambulance and the police cars. A figure staggered after the fleeing humans, awkward and uncoordinated. Seras sat on the concrete, blue eyes wide and stunned, mouth open in wordless shock with blood thick down her front. The lurching figure paused at the sound of his steps, long platinum blond hair falling in disarray across one empty, soulless eye and the patch over its mate._

_ "_What have you done?!_" His roar echoed between the buildings and Seras jumped, awareness seeping back into her eyes as she shifted her gaze to her incensed master. She blinked and then those eyes narrowed into a rage of her own._

_ "What have I done? I did what you refused to do! I consumed her blood, gave her my essence, brought her into immortality!"_

_ "You fool!" Alucard advanced on the girl, the child that for the first time, he almost regretted creating. "You cannot turn one of your own gender! It is impossible. You have cursed her, turned her into your slave! Your ghoul!"_

_ Seras jerked, her haunted eyes turning to the lurching creature. It pivoted to face them, stumbling with the simple movement, shoulders drooping and facial features slack with emptiness._

_ "No…she should have lived! She was pure, untouched."_

_ "She was female! You have defiled her! Even were you capable of turning a woman, she did not wish it. She made that clear to both of us a hundred times over! You dimwitted, self-centered, arrogant fool!"_

_ The ancient vampire's red eyes glowed in his rage, jagged teeth bared with fury. He reached into the folds of his red duster and pulled the lethal, silver gun from its holster. Still glaring at his recalcitrant fledgling, he leveled the barrel of the gun with the ghoul's forehead. The empty, soulless eye blinked, the jaw sagging open as though to speak, but nothing came out. He pulled the trigger and splattered rotten blood and brains over the concrete. _

_ The ghoul collapsed in a boneless heap and his own knees buckled, hitting the ground with a dull thud. He sat back on his heels, gun arm dropping to his side, head drooping as the shaggy black hair hid his features. Crimson tears splattered against his black-clad thighs and onto the concrete between his legs. Seras blinked at the decimated ghoul, the reality of what she'd done finally penetrating her grief fogged brain._

_ "Master? I…"_

_ "No. I am not your master. I am nothing to you. You drank your freedom long ago and tonight, you have become someone I do not recognize. Be gone from my sight."_

_ The ancient vampire didn't move, didn't look up as his fledgling stumbled to her feet and fled from the scene, red tears pouring down her cheeks. He couldn't, wouldn't care. The only thing that spared her life was the history that they shared. Anyone else would have died for defiling his master so._

_ New sirens sounded in the distance and the vampire stirred, the red clad shoulders rising and falling as his body dissolved into tendrils of shadow and then into the horde of bats that went winging over the rooftops, screeching as they went._

Alucard blinked, shaking himself out of the memory, feeling the cool wetness flowing down his cheeks. He reached up to touch the tears that streaked his face, but he didn't have to see the red stains on his fingertips to know what it was. In all his years of existence, two women had touched him, left their mark branded into his soul, and neither of them had been destined to be his.

He took a deep breath and rose from his seat against the side of the bed, crossing the room to gaze out into the dark night. The blood tears glistened on his skin, but they had ceased to flow. Nothing could change the past and allowing it to dictate his future was sheerest folly.

Behind him, a key grated in the recalcitrant lock on the front door. With a thought, he absorbed the blood tears into his skin, not moving from his position staring out into the dark night.

Alexis pushed the door open, her feet aching and shoulders drooping with weariness. Fridays always wiped her out. Over fourteen hours of work did that to a person. She closed the door behind her and turned the lock. Sighing, she slipped the purse off her shoulder and trudged toward the bedroom. She paused just inside the door, blinking at the red clad figure standing next to her window.

A corner of her brain screamed an order to flee from the creature, but she was too tired to even shush it. She didn't say a word as she crossed to her closet, retrieved her pajamas and went to the bathroom to change. By the time she finished slipping into the sleep wear and brushing her teeth, the vampire had disappeared from her room. She thought about seeing if he was still in the apartment, but she just couldn't summon the energy to care. Climbing into bed, she slid under the comforter and curled into a ball, waiting for her body heat to warm the cool sheets. She completely missed the figure that darkened the doorway to her bedroom and watched as her breath eased into sleep.

**A/N: Just so everyone knows, I do not hate Integra. I love her to death, but being that she seems to insist on remaining human, it **_**was**_** inevitable that she would eventually die. As for Seras, the manga has illustrated that she is fully capable of panicking and losing rationality in a stressful situation. I really wanted the whole thing to have ended horribly. Heh. I think I pulled that off…maybe too well…**

**Please, please let me know what you think, guys. *hugs all around***


	4. Ch 4: A Rude Awakening

**A/N: Thank you to everyone that likes this story. I have a direction to go with it, just gotta get where I want to be. Heh. Just FYI, my release schedule for this fic is once a week on Mondays. If I hit a pocket of major inspiration where I'm kicking out two to three chapters a week, I may bring that up, but for the time being, it's once a week.**

**Please enjoy this next chapter. :)**

**Chapter 4: A Rude Awakening**

A loud knocking rattled through the one bedroom apartment, shaking the picture frames on the wall in the living area. Alexis jerked awake, blinking groggily in the twilight of her bedroom at midday. The black-out curtains helped her sleep when she had to grab her rest whenever she got the opportunity. She rolled over to look at her bedside clock. Eleven in the morning. Technically, she'd gotten over eight hours of sleep, but it didn't feel like it.

The knocking came again, louder this time and she heard a loud crunch from the front room as a picture frame rattled off the wall and fell to the floor. Cursing, she threw the sheets back and slipped out of bed. Standing, she lifted a foot to cross the room and promptly stumbled over the coffin in her way. Cursing again, she overcompensated and fell back against the bed, her right toe throbbing.

"Damn vampire," she growled, reaching down to rub her aching toe. The heavy knocking turned into an insistent pounding and she jumped off of the bed, tossing a glare at the coffin that had blocked her path. She really didn't want to deal with this today, but she knew who was at the door and they wouldn't go away until she answered.

Although her pajamas covered everything that mattered, she grabbed the robe hanging on the back of her closet door as she eased around the offending coffin. Slipping it on, she headed for the front door. It might just be terry cloth, but the extra layer of clothing made her feel just a little bit stronger, more prepared for the coming confrontation.

A dull thud shook the door and wall.

"I'm coming!" she snarled, anger mounting as the sleep drained from her mind. "You don't have to break the door down!"

Twisting the deadbolt, she cracked the door and glared at the two men in the hallway. The taller one slipped a pair of sunglasses off his nose and hung them in the neck of his t-shirt by the ear piece.

"About damn time, Alex. Let us in."

"The payment's not due for another week, Joey. Go away."

Joey narrowed dark green eyes at her, a lock of reddish brown hair falling in his face. He always looked like he needed a haircut, but with a perpetual five o-clock shadow, sharp nose and well-defined jaw, he pulled off the rakish look admirably. She'd thought him handsome, once upon a time.

"Finny's a little hard up this month. We're here to renegotiate."

A cold chill ran down her spine. She couldn't afford more. If they demanded more money from her, she'd end up short every month. She barely made her bills as it was. Of course, she _could_ refuse to pay up, but she really didn't want to rot the rest of her life away in a jail cell…and there was no statute of limitations on murder.

Sighing and fighting back tears, she stepped aside, pulling the door open. Joey pushed his way inside, followed by the six foot three, blond wall of muscle that trailed after him everywhere he went. Most accountants didn't have any need for a body guard, but most accountants didn't crunch the same kind of numbers Joey did.

"Look, I've never been late on a payment. You guys are the first ones I pay out of my paycheck every month. Can't you cut me a little slack?"

Joey laughed and bared his teeth at her.

"Didn't you get the memo, princess? Life's a bitch and then you die. Now, unless you want the bobbies showing up on your doorstep with some really uncomfortable questions, you'll cough up another two hundred a month."

Alexis's jaw dropped. That was a third of what she was already paying them. Altogether, it would be almost half of her monthly income. She opened her mouth to protest and Joey lifted an eyebrow in challenge. She bit back her words and looked away. They could demand anything from her, short of her life, and they knew she'd find a way to deliver.

"And we need something today…a gesture of faith, you could say. Either cash or something we can sell. How's your jewelry collection?"

Alexis glared at him. She had very little of real value in her house. She never had the money to purchase anything of real value.

"It's all costume jewelry and you know it."

"Hey, boss. There's something in her room. I think it's a…coffin?"

Joey gave the blond muscle mountain a sharp look and craned his neck to peer through her bedroom door. Feeling a flutter of adrenaline, she rushed to her bedroom and slammed the door closed.

"It's nothing. Stay out of my room!"

Narrowing his eyes at her, Joey stalked across her living room and backhanded her hard enough to turn her head. She gasped and blinked as she suddenly found herself staring at her front wall, stars dancing in her vision. She worked her jaw, reaching up to touch her stinging cheek.

"What's yours is ours, bitch! Haven't you learned that yet? Now get out of my way!"

"It's not mine. I'm storing it for someone." Alexis looked at the man, keeping her features carefully blank with just a touch of wheedling. She wanted nothing more than to let him in the room and point and laugh as Alucard tore the two of them to ribbons, but she couldn't. If Joey were to come up missing while on an errand to her house, well…no percentage of her income would get her out of the trouble that would descend on her. "Look, I've got three hundred in my savings. Go with me to an ATM and I'll pull it. I'll even say I only gave you two hundred if anyone asks so you can pocket some."

Joey narrowed his eyes at her, judging her sincerity. If he took her up on the offer and she narced on him, he could get in a lot of trouble, but so would she for making the offer in the first place. She gave him sincere eyes, praying he took her up on it. Money talked to people like Joey, and to her relief, he decided to listen.

"Fine. Let's go."

"Let me change, first."

Alexis opened her door and slipped through it, pulling it closed behind her. Wishing she had a lock on the damn thing and wondering how much one cost, she hurried to her closet.

"Who are they?"

The voice wasn't loud enough for Joey or his goon to hear, but it just about made her jump out of her skin. She whirled to spot the softly glowing red eyes she'd missed when she came through the door.

"Do you get some kind of sadistic pleasure out of scaring the life out of me?"

The dim light from the edges of the curtains reflected off a gleaming set of jagged teeth bared in a manic grin.

"Yes. I do."

That was _not_ the answer she expected, although in retrospect, she should have.

"Bastard." She turned back to the closet, rummaging around for a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. She'd be damned if she bothered to dress up just to go out in public with Joey. He could deal with her in ratty sweats and bed hair.

"I'll ask again. Who are they?"

Alexis left the closet, clothes tucked under an arm. She pushed the door closed and glared at the vampire, irritated by his persistence.

"Just some acquaintances. I need to go out and get something for them. Is that okay with you, your highness?" She marched toward the bathroom without waiting for an answer. Stripping the robe off, she tossed it over her shower rod and pulled her pajama top over her head. She reached for her bra, her back to the door.

"Do all of your acquaintances extort money from you?"

Alexis squeaked and whirled. She clutched the bra to her chest, keeping herself covered…barely…and glared at the vampire standing just inside her bathroom door.

"Oh _hell_ no! Out! Get out! Remember the ground rules?"

Alucard grinned, a smug, devilish expression, as his eyes wandered over her bare skin and the touch of cleavage formed by her arms pressing into her chest.

"You only said I was to stay out of the bathroom during your showers," he said with a triumphant look. "You are not showering."

"OUT!" Alexis grabbed a bar of soap, coking it back to throw, but Alucard was already walking _through_ the door…quite literally. A dark chuckle echoed back to her as he disappeared into the bedroom, leaving her to gape after him in shock. Well, that certainly explained how he came and went without a key. One mystery solved.

Clenching her teeth, she set the bar of soap down and mentally ordered her pulse to slow. It didn't listen. Cursing, she proceeded to finish getting dressed, ignoring her racing heartbeat. What made her really blush was the knowledge that her racing pulse was as much due to excitement at his apparent interest in her as indignation that he'd seen her in a state of dishabille, twice now. Ridiculous. How stupid could she be? It was just a passing fancy because he'd saved her life. That even made sense. She just had to keep a lid on it and not make a fool of herself until the fancy passed.

Fully dressed and heart rate almost under control, Alexis left the bathroom. To her chagrin, her blush returned in full as soon as she spotted those glowing eyes on the other side of the bedroom. At least he hadn't gone out in the living area. She hadn't thought to ask him to remain hidden and had no idea how she could explain him to Joey.

"I'll be back once I get rid of them. I'm sorry your rest was disturbed," she said, keeping her voice pitched low so the men in the living room wouldn't hear her.

"You'll explain what is going on when you return."

Alexis bristled. How dare he make personal demands in _her_ house? He might have stayed overnight, but so far as she was concerned, he was a _guest_. She sure as hell wasn't sharing her deepest, darkest secret with him when she barely knew him, and what she did know seemed to be rather monstrous…and lecherous.

Still, she didn't have time to argue with him, now. She could go to bat with him when she got back. Maybe he'd kill her and she wouldn't have to worry about any of it, anymore. No. Nix that thought. Her survival instinct might leave something to be desired, but in her heart, she didn't want to die. If she was truly willing to give up her life and freedom, she could get the satisfaction of telling Joey to take a long walk off a short pier and let the chips fall as they may.

Refusing to answer the vampire, she schooled her expression into bland resignation and left the room. Joey looked up from where he lounged on her couch, a malicious leer on his face.

"You better make this quick. I got places to be."

Alexis suppressed the urge to smack him, lest that piss him off and cause him to do something to make her life more miserable. She didn't need the stress right now. She really, really didn't.

Alucard listened to the front door shut and the lock grate closed behind the humans. He stretched out on the bed, hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. He'd heard more than Alexis probably realized. That arrogant human, Joey, very nearly lost his life when he raised a hand to the woman. If Alucard had truly claimed her as his own, the man would be dead, now, but he hadn't decided yet. He'd confirmed that his estates were intact and the inheritance left to him in Integra's will had grown through the wise investments of the firm that managed his trusts. He could afford to support a human, or several, if he so chose.

The question was, did he want her? The idea had its merits. If nothing else, she might be an interesting distraction for a time. However, she could not be allowed to keep these secrets. He had an idea what was happening, here, and he could help her, but not if she did not confide in him. Time would tell what came of this situation.


	5. Public Service Announcement

**Public Service Announcement. **

This is not a chapter. I apologize to anyone that got all excited. This is also not an announcement that I'm quitting the story. The next chapter will come out on Monday, as scheduled.

I am writing this because I got a review from one of my younger readers asking what it's like to be drunk because she never has been. I wanted to answer that and also to speak to drinking in general a little bit. Oh, and thank you for your review, ma'am.

First of all, drinking is different for every person. At its basest level, alcohol consumption lowers your inhibitions. That's fancy speak for the fact that it smacks duct tape over the mouth of that little voice in the back of your head that keeps you from doing the stupid stuff that randomly crosses your mind every day. I am lucky because that little voice in the back of my head is really, REALLY loud and somehow can shout pretty clearly through duct tape. Trust me. I have arguments with that voice. I'm not crazy, though. My Mommie told me so. *grin*

Joking aside, though, it's hard to predict what drinking will be like for each person. Your base personality comes out in force, sometimes in very obnoxious ways. If you're normally depressed, you get more depressed. If you're normally angry, you get angrier, and sometimes violent. If you're normally flirty…yeah…that often doesn't end well, especially if you have a significant other. Sometimes, you'll learn things about yourself. Sometimes they're things you'd rather you never knew. *grin*

Still, drinking can be a lot of fun, especially if you follow the rules.

**Rule number one: Wait until you are of the legal age to drink wherever you live.** I did this and I have never regretted it, even when I was a teen and refraining from drinking until I was 21. For one, I never had to worry about calling my mom from a pay phone because I was drunk and stuck somewhere or had wrecked my car because I drove drunk. THAT kind of scenario could give me nightmares. And it's not that my mom was strict or cruel. I just had so much respect for her, even as a teen, that I couldn't stand to disappoint her to that level.

**Rule number two: Always have a designated driver that you can trust or drink at home.** I follow this rule religiously. Lucky for me, I have a husband who doesn't like to drink because it gives him bad motion sickness and he is often happy to be my designated driver. However, even before I knew him, if I didn't have a designated driver, I didn't drink. At all. Even if everyone around me was drinking. Also, the trust factor is really important. I recently made arrangements with a friend to be the designated driver when I was out with a group of friends. Luckily, after about three drinks I noticed that she was drinking too and was able to stop immediately and let the alcohol work through my system before it was time to leave because she was not holding up her end of the deal. Had I not noticed her drinking, that could have ended very badly.

**Rule number three: Don't drink when you have other responsibilities.** If it's Thursday night and you have to be at work at eight the next day, it's generally not a good idea to get drunk. (Unlike a certain main character I can think of…and see where that's gotten her?) While I generally don't suffer from hangovers, I am the exception to the rule. I do not drink when I have any kind of work before noon the next day, whether it's my day job or a face painting job. (I am a professional face painter on the side.) Whether it's a plane to catch, college classes, your little sister's Christmas bells concert, I don't care. If you have something important to do that a hangover might interfere with, don't drink. There will be plenty of other opportunities. Really. :)

**Rule number four: Don't drink too much too fast.** Alcohol takes anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour to get into your system completely, depending on what and how much was in your stomach when you started. Yes, eating before drinking DOES make a difference. It's not an old wives' tale. You can always drink a little more once what you've already had kicks in. It's exceedingly harder to expel what you've already drunk, especially if it's already in your blood stream. Not following this rule is what leads to death due to alcohol poisoning. It is a reality. Don't risk it.

**Rule number five: Don't be dumb.** This is a really broad rule and can encompass a lot of things. For example, don't drink to get wasted the first time you ever drink. Take it slow. Learn whether you're a lightweight or could drink an Irish sailor under the table. Be HONEST with yourself about which one you are and drink accordingly in the future. If, at any point during your drinking, you have any doubt whatsoever about what you're doing, stop. If you're too drunk to analyze why you're having doubts, you probably needed to stop anyway. If you can analyze the feeling, do so. Not listening to that niggling doubt in the back of your head gets us all in trouble when we're sober. You can double that for when you're drunk. Only drink around people you know you can trust. This includes people you can trust to not hurt your feelings the next day about the stupid stuff you're likely to do when you're drunk. *grin* Mainly, to follow this rule, use as much common sense as you can. Analyze your situation for any potential problems before you start drinking and if anything could go wrong within a reasonable doubt, be smart and don't drink.

As for me, personally, I love to drink. It's fun. As I sit typing this, I have a drink at my side, my favorite, Malibu Rum and pineapple orange juice. I am 32 years old (no, I don't mind you people knowing my age at this point), I am sitting at home with nothing planned for tomorrow besides relaxing with my husband. I have been told I am a funny/fun drunk. I am a normally happy person so drinking makes me happier, and sometimes downright comedic. I am NOT a lightweight. It can take upwards of sixteen ounces of Malibu Rum to get me good and drunk on an empty stomach and if I've had something to eat within the last hour, drinking is a waste of liquor for me. I hate beer and generally stick with the harder liquors, although I've developed a liking for hard cider recently…

All of that being said, please, please, please always drink responsibly. It is honestly not that hard and it is sooo worth it in the end. Hugs to everyone, and I hope I answered your question well, my dear reader. :D

This has been a public service announcement from your local, friendly FalconStorm.


	6. Ch 5: To Hell in a Handbasket

**Chapter 5: To Hell in a Handbasket**

Alexis slammed the door behind her, fuming. Bad enough that they'd cleaned out her savings account, but that prick kept groping her and she didn't dare make him stop. She wouldn't willingly sleep with him. She still had some standards and she'd happily rot away in jail before she invited _any_ of them to her bed. Still, if a little groping would keep Joey happy and get him out of her hair, she could deal with it.

Tossing her purse on the couch, she checked the time. Three hours before she had to leave for work. Good. She could relax a little before jumping in the shower. She wandered over to her meager bookcase and picked out a well-worn volume. Reading always gave her at least a few minutes of freedom from her sordid life. Flipping open to the first page, she plopped down on the second hand loveseat against the far wall.

"I assume you have prepared your explanation."

She didn't even look up at the vampire's voice. She'd hoped he went back to sleep.

"Bully for you." She turned the page in her book.

"Who were they, Alexis?"

"I don't owe you a damn thing." She glared at him over the top of her book. He leaned against the doorframe to her bedroom, arms crossed and one foot braced against the frame behind him. How the hell did he manage to look sexy with that belligerent expression on his face?

_Just a passing fancy. No way in hell he'd be interested in any kind of relationship…if he's even capable of such a thing_. Alexis looked back at her book, not entirely convinced by the logical voice in the back of her head.

"I suppose I'll go ask them myself." He headed for the door and Alexis jumped to her feet, rushing across the room to block his path. She had no idea how he intended to find Joey, but at this point, she wasn't willing to put anything past his capabilities.

"Look. Don't. Please? They…they know something that could get me thrown in jail for a very long time. I pay them what they ask and they don't tell the cops. Can we leave it at that?"

Alucard arched an eyebrow at her, but he nodded. It was a start. He could get more out of her later.

"That will suffice…for now. In the mean time, I have some 'ground rules' of my own. You will refrain from touching my coffin in the future."

Alexis narrowed her eyes at him. She'd happily leave the infernal thing alone, it if wasn't always in her way.

"Fine, but move it to the other side of the bed. I damn near broke my toe on it this morning."

The vampire shot her a feral grin that looked more like a snarl than a smile and turned to march back into the bedroom, the hem of his red duster swirling about his legs. Sighing a breath of relief, Alexis returned to the loveseat and her abandoned book.

Cigarette smoke hung heavy in the air as Alexis hurried toward the bar, a tray balanced over her head on one hand. She stopped at the waitress well and set the tray down.

"I need two Cosmopolitans, a gin and tonic, three Fosters and a scotch on the rocks."

Jason, the bartender, nodded and set to work on the drinks while she tallied up tickets and marked down those that had a tab open. Jason finished setting out the last of the drinks and pushed the tray toward her.

"There you go, Allie. And just a word of warning. Boss man showed up about ten minutes ago and he's in a bad mood.

"What else is new?" she said, hefting the tray and holding it at shoulder level as she turned away. "And don't call me Allie." The bartender laughed behind her, accustomed to her acerbic attitude. He had no intention of following her demands. It was too much fun to rile her up.

Alexis made her way through the crowd, delivering drinks and taking new orders. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the bar's owner, Thomas Dunagan, watching her with narrow eyes. What had crawled up his ass this time? It seemed like he always had something to complain about.

She reached her last table, the guys that had ordered the lagers. They leered at her as she bent down to set the drinks on their table. As she pulled back, she felt a hand slide up the back of her thigh. She froze, a red haze of rage momentarily obscuring her vision. Joey's grab ass act earlier in the day was bad enough. She didn't need to take it from some drunken customer.

Slapping the hand away, she whirled on the offender.

"You will _not_ touch me, sir!" She spoke loud enough that a few people around them paused to see what was going on. "I am your server, not your girlfriend and not your whore! If you touch me again, I _will_ report you for sexual assault!"

The guy's eyes popped wide and he put his hands up as though she held him at gunpoint. One of his companions put a hand out.

"Whoa, hold on. He didn't mean anything by it. You should take it as a compliment."

Alexis turned on the man, her teeth bared in anger. Normally, she wouldn't blow up at a customer, but between the problems with Joey, the lecherous vampire now living in her apartment and worry over how she would come up with the extra money each month, her temper had developed a rather short fuse.

"Compliment? _Compliment_? A compliment is 'you look nice tonight'. Grabbing someone's ass without an invitation is insulting! Don't give me anymore of your bullshit. I'm not buying."

"Okay, okay. Touchy bird. Here's a fiver and we'll call it even, eh?"

Alexis stared at the crumpled bill the man held out to her. How dare he try to buy her off like some common whore after the insults they'd offered her? She should just walk away and give their table to another girl, or better yet, black list them so they had to fetch their own drinks from the bar, but she'd had just about enough. Before the little voice in the back of her head could warn her not to, she reared back and slapped the man hard enough to turn his head.

"Hey!"

"Here, now! That was uncalled for!"

Both of his friends jumped to his defense while he blinked in shock, reaching up to rub his sore cheek. Alexis glared defiance at the two blokes defending their friend. She had a smart comment all ready to fire when a hand seized her by the arm and whirled her around. Mr. Dunagan glared down at her, murder in his eyes.

"No waitress lays a hand on a patron of one of _my_ establishments!" he roared. Everyone in a five yard radius looked over at them, shocked by the loud voice. Alexis swallowed hard, the possible repercussions of what she'd done kicking her in the gut. She couldn't afford to lose this job. The money she got here kept her going from day to day while she used the paycheck from her main job to keep Finny satisfied. With the hike in what he wanted, she _really_ couldn't afford to lose the job. "Yer time working here is over, girlie. Close out your tabs and get out of my sight. You're fired!"

A cold stone plopped into her stomach. She opened her mouth to plead her case, but Mr. Dunagan shoved her toward the bar, not giving her a chance to argue. She went through the motions of closing out for the night, easily four hours too early. Mr. Dunagan hovered over her the whole time, like he expected her to make off with some of the bar's money. Jason gave her a sympathetic look as he took the waitress till back from her. He _had_ warned her about the owner's bad mood tonight.

Satisfied that she hadn't pocketed anything that wasn't actually hers, Mr. Dunagan let her collect her purse and sweater and saw her to the door.

"Just so you know, you're not welcome in here as a customer, either." With that, the man closed the door behind her and her shoulders drooped.

"What's that all about? What happened?"

Alexis's back stiffened at the familiar voice and she turned to give her date from the other night an evil look. Jared looked like he hadn't showered since before their date, with two days worth of stubble gracing his jaw. His dark hair hung in long, lank strands. She might have thought he had ended up in some trouble of his own, except that such neglect for his appearance wasn't unusual for the man. At least he'd bothered to dress in clean clothes. _Why_ had she wanted to date him, again?

"Not that it's any of your business, but Mr. Dunagan objected to me exercising my right to a work environment free from sexual harassment. He's encouraged me to seek other employment opportunities."

"You hit someone for groping you again, didn't you?"

Alexis looked away, grinding her teeth together. How could they make it sound like _she_ was in the wrong for objecting to customers feeling her up? She didn't bother to clarify that she'd actually hit the one that tried to buy her off.

"Need a ride home?" He nodded toward the moped behind him.

Alexis shook her head with narrowed eyes. "Not from you. Who knows where you'd leave me?"

"Oh, don't be like that." Jared reached behind him and pulled a rose out of his back pocket. It might have been sweet if it wasn't one of those cheap plastic roses from the convenience stores, complete with a little plastic bear attached to the stem. Were there really women out there that _liked_ such things?

Jared offered the monstrosity to her and she just looked at it as though he'd offered her a poisonous snake.

"I think I can walk." She turned and started making her way down the sidewalk. Jared rushed to catch up with her.

"Hey, I'm trying to apologize for the other night, here."

"Really? I don't recall hearing any apologies cross your lips, just now." Alexis kept walking.

"I'm sorry. I _am_." He fell into step beside her, still holding out that despicable rose. "Why don't you come back to my place with me? I could help you forget about what happened tonight."

Alexis stopped dead and turned a furious glare on the man. She knew exactly how he intended to help her forget. It was the only activity that seemed to hold his attention for more than a few seconds. Too bad she'd figured that out _after_ falling for his act that one time.

"You bloody wanker! How dare you try to capitalize on this? I can't believe I _ever_ saw anything of value in you! No means no and I won't be changing my mind. Go find some other sucker with tits to offer that plastic…_thing_ to. I'm not buying your bullshit anymore."

Without waiting for a response, she turned her back on him and stalked down the street, seething. Maybe Alucard would be interested in a fresh snack tonight. She _did_ have Jared's address. Then again, the man's blood might make the poor vampire sick. Who knows what kind of diseases he'd picked up? Speaking of which…she should probably get herself tested as well. Just in case.

That thought hit her like a ton of bricks. Her anger drained away as she thought about the possibility that she might have gotten something from him. She'd only slept with him once and they'd used protection, but once was all it took and protection wasn't guaranteed. She'd have to make a trip to the clinic, and didn't that sound like a grand way to spend an afternoon?

Did it really matter? She had no idea how long it would take to get another job. The moment she couldn't pay up to Finny and Joey, she'd find herself on a one way trip to the slammer. Maybe they'd test her in there.

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she catalogued the mess she'd made out of her life. She'd made bad decisions, trusted the wrong people and she knew she'd be paying for it for the rest of her life, however long that might be. She hadn't talked to her mother in years. Her father and baby brother had been dead for longer than that. Jared was the closest thing she had to a friend, and how depressing was _that_?

Pulling her keys from her purse, she trudged up the stairs to her apartment. She fought with the lock and by the time the infuriating thing gave way, she had tears of anger and frustration pouring down her cheeks. She stumbled through the door to find a vampire leaning against her couch, arms crossed and head cocked to the side with curiosity.

Great. Why did _he_ have to see her like this? Didn't he have things to do after the sun went down? People to eat?

Reaching up to dash the tears from her cheeks, she tossed her purse on the couch and retreated to the bathroom, locking herself in. She sat on the edge of the bathtub, letting the tears fall freely and wondering if the vampire would bother to knock on the door and ask what was wrong.

He didn't. Big surprise, there.

What did it matter anyway? She didn't have much of a life, but even that little bit was crumbling down around her, and here she found herself hoping a _vampire_ would care? How pathetic could she get?

The tears slowed as a knot of resigned despair formed in her chest. She felt tired, like she'd been slogging through the fen of her life for so long that just laying down and sinking into the bog began to appeal to her. At least she'd be able to rest in peace, then.

Blinking the last of the tears from her eyes, she rose and opened the bathroom door. The bedroom was dark and empty. Passing through into the living room, she spotted him, sitting on the loveseat, hands clasped over his stomach and legs crossed at the knee. His red eyes latched onto her as she entered the room, but they didn't exactly radiate concern. More like they watched her with anticipation, a vulture waiting for the dying gazelle to breathe its last.

Too tired to care, she headed for the kitchenette and pulled out the drawer where she kept various odds and ends. Rummaging around, she found the box of extra blades she kept for her box cutter. Pulling one out, she put the rest away and leaned against the counter, examining the dull silver blade.

She didn't hear him move, but she caught sight of the red-clad figure out of the corner of her eye. He stood at the entrance to her kitchenette, watching her.

"They fired me," she said, a little surprised at how her voice cracked on the words. It almost felt like someone else spoke them. "I needed that job to pay for food and bills. With Finny and his goons asking for more money, now…I don't know what to do. And then, add insult to injury, Jared showed up and offered to take me home and help 'cheer me up'." She laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. He probably had no idea who Jared was. Why was she telling him this stuff anyway? It wasn't like he cared.

Lifting an arm, she examined the underside of her wrist. Blue and purple veins crisscrossed just under the skin, rushing life to the cells of her body. She brought the razor up to brace it against her flesh. The sharp edge dimpled her skin ever so slightly. She shifted her eyes to glare at the vampire as he watched her, one eyebrow raised in sardonic curiosity.

"Well, aren't you going to say anything?"

He shrugged. "You seem to have a course of action planned out. Why should I stop you?"

Alexis grit her teeth, hand trembling where it clutched the razor.

"You know, you're not supposed to say things like that to a suicidal person."

"Ah, that's if you want them to _live_." Alucard smirked at her and she clenched her fist, causing the razor to press harder against her skin. The nerves in her wrist were starting to shoot pain signals to her head, warning her that the current circumstances wouldn't end in her well being if this kept up. "If you have decided to die, who am I to stop you? Bad enough for a human to give up in the face of adversity, but to take your own life? Pathetic. The world will not miss you."

Alexis flinched, knowing he spoke nothing but the naked, brutal truth. She wondered, if he left her body to rot in the apartment, would anyone else notice her missing before Joey came to collect the payment in a week's time?

"You'd make a horrible counselor," she said as she slashed the razor across the side of her wrist. Pain seared up her arm on the tail of a surge of adrenaline. Blood welled up and trickled down her arm.

"You did it wrong," Alucard said. "You'll never bleed out by cutting at that angle."

"I know." She glared at him, anger quickly crowding out the despair. "I don't really want to die. I just want someone to care." She held her wrist out to him. No point in letting the blood go to waste. He chuckled and reached out to take her hand in his. She shivered as those cool, gloved fingers closed around her palm.

"How can you expect anyone to care about you when _you_ don't care about you?" He bent his head to the wound, licking up the line of crimson that had spilled down her arm before sealing his lips over the slash. Alexis shuddered, half in pain and half from the delicious sensation of his lips pressed against her skin. She wondered if he would use his fangs, but she didn't feel so much as a prick against her skin as he fed from the wound. She thought about what he'd said, and had to admit, he had a point, but…well…easier said than done.


	7. Ch 6: Playing Bait

**Chapter 6: Playing Bait**

Alucard ripped off one last piece of medical tape and smoothed it into place. Alexis examined her bandaged wrist as he packed away the items from the first aid kit and rose to return it to the bathroom. It looked like she'd gotten it done at the emergency room, certainly not the haphazard job she would have done with only one hand.

"Thank you," she said as he returned from the bedroom. He shrugged and tossed an envelope onto the couch cushion beside her. Frowning, she picked it up as he sank gracefully onto the loveseat, clasping his hands over his stomach as he watched her.

"What's this?"

"Rent."

Opening the envelope, she blinked at the bills inside. They hadn't discussed an amount. Hell, technically he'd only been living with her for two days. It certainly felt like a lot longer than that, though. Too much had happened, but this…

"This is more than the total rent for this place." She looked up at those bright red eyes. The amount in the envelope would cover what Finny was demanding, plus some. He couldn't be serious.

"You opened a vein for me. Blood and shelter are the only things I truly need to exist. Since you've offered both, it would be crass of me if I didn't see you well-compensated for it."

Alexis scowled, her hand closing around the envelope and its contents.

"I'm not your whore."

"Of course you aren't. A whore is bought for a single night and then discarded. Our…arrangement will last considerably longer than that."

"I'm not your mistress, either." Still, she didn't offer to give the money back. She needed it too much. It would at least give her some breathing room to find another job. Alucard arched an eyebrow at her and she looked away.

"Thank you. This…this will help a lot." She hated to admit she needed the help, but it wasn't like he didn't already know. "So, I suppose our arrangement will need to include blood on a regular basis? Err…how often and how much? I won't bleed myself dry for you."

"Is that so? A few minutes ago…"

"Look. Let's pretend that never happened. I have my moments, but I don't mean it." She didn't mention that was the first time she'd actually picked up an instrument with which to end her life. It was embarrassing enough that she'd given in to despair at all. She swore to herself that it wouldn't happen again…especially around Alucard. She'd lose whatever respect he had for her…if she hadn't already. Why did that thought bother her so much? Oh yeah. That pesky passing fancy. The sooner she got over that, the better.

"You, alone, cannot feed me. A taste once a week will suffice to satisfy our arrangement. It would not do to drain you to a point of weakness."

"Thanks. I appreciate that." Even she couldn't decide if she meant that sarcastically or in all seriousness. "Well, I guess I better break out the interview clothes and start perusing the want ads."

Alucard cocked his head at her and then a mischievous grin spread across his face.

"I have a better idea." He rose from the loveseat and crossed the few steps it took to loom over her. "Your blood, alone, cannot keep me fed, but you did make rather good bait the other night. Get dressed for a night at the clubs. Tonight, you hunt with me."

V^^^V

Alexis scowled up at the blinking neon sign that bled 'Clubb Redd' into the overcast night. What was it about poor spelling that made such a dull name attractive? She looked down the line of people waiting to get it. Apparently, it worked.

At the vampire's insistence, she had changed into a skirt that barely covered her butt, dark hose and heels that could double as daggers if she knew anything about kickboxing. The shirt dipped down in the front so far that even her meager assets managed to display a line of cleavage. The back consisted of sheer black material with swirling designs overlaid in black velvet. The sheer part curled around her sides, growing sparser toward the middle of her stomach until what was velvet on sheer in the back became sheer on velvet in the front. She'd never seen a shirt manage to be elegant and utterly slutty at the same time…until now.

She remembered buying the shoes and skirt once upon a time in hopes of increasing her tip revenue. It had worked, but it wasn't worth the groping hands and pushy innuendo she'd had to endure. The shirt wasn't something she would ever buy and she knew it. She couldn't say how it'd shown up in her closet, but she could take a wild guess. She had examined herself in the mirror and almost refused to wear it, but…well…if he had put it in her closet, maybe he wanted to see her in it.

Cursing herself, she ran a brush through her thick auburn hair and started to pull it up into a twist, until she had noticed the strap of her bra showing through the sheer part in the back. Sure, it was black, but still. She left the hair down. Examining herself in the mirror, she thought about wearing some makeup, but she really hated the stuff. Besides, with eyes as dark as hers, eyeliner and mascara tended to make her look like she had raccoon eyes. Shrugging, she'd stepped out of the bathroom and promptly turned beet red.

Alucard had changed out of his suit and red duster. For a moment, she'd wondered where he kept his clothes, but then her mind lost all power of coherent thought. He wore black leather pants that hugged his thighs and tapered down to heavy black boots with what looked like a hundred shiny silver buckles running up to just below his knee. Black straps crisscrossed where a belt should be, leading up into the top that looked like an unholy cross between a Napoleonic military coat and a straight jacket. Did all those straps serve a purpose, and if so, what?

No. Don't think about it. That line of thought could only lead to…damn. Too late.

The knowing smirk he gave her did _not_ help. And how the hell did he grow his hair down to his ass in a couple of minutes?!

Standing outside the club, her blush had not gone down at all and the damn vampire seemed to get a kick out of it. The worst part was, probably 95% of the world's male population would look completely idiotic in his outfit. _He_ made it look sexy as hell. Every set of female eyes and a disturbing number of male ones locked onto him as he stalked past…because he didn't _walk_ in that thing. No, he stalked through the crowd as it parted before him like Moses with the Red Sea. Alexis trailed behind him, feeling like a lost puppy no one wanted to take home.

It took her a moment to realize they had just bypassed the entire line and no one said a damn thing, as though it only made sense for Alucard to cut to the front.

"Club's full."

Alucard stopped in front of the bouncer guarding the front door. The guy looked like he traded his brain in for a double dose of muscle, but he didn't back down from the vampire's penetrating gaze. Maybe that was proof he _had_ traded his brain for muscle.

Alucard quirked a smile and caught the man with his red gaze.

"There's room for two more."

The bouncer's mean black eyes glazed over and the perpetual scowl etched into his features eased into a thoroughly perplexed look.

"There is?"

"Yes. You can admit at least two more."

"Awright. If it's just two of ya."

The bouncer reached down to unhook the red velvet rope that held the crowd back. A red head with breasts twice the size of Alexis's and a waist that looked like she had to be missing a couple of ribs sidled up to the vampire.

"I'll go in with you," she purred, looking him up and down. "I can't imagine your little sister here is even old enough to drink."

Alexis bristled. Aside from both having dark hair and pale skin, she and Alucard did _not_ look related. He had over a foot of height on her and the features were all wrong. Where he was all sharp, defined angles, she was soft, rounded curves…at least in the face. But, then, the woman probably didn't really think they were related, _or_ that Alexis was really under twenty-one.

Alucard turned just a little to give the woman a once-over. Alexis felt her heart sink. She _knew_ this wasn't exactly a date, but the last time another woman sidled up to the man she was with, she'd almost ended up raped and left for dead on her way home alone.

The vampire grinned and seemed to ooze over to the woman, gazing down on her with a speculative look. She tilted her head back to meet his eyes and took a deep breath, displaying her already impressive assets.

"When I need the services of a cheap slut, I'll keep you in mind." He said it in such a seductive voice that it took the woman a moment to realize she'd been insulted. In that time, he turned to Alexis and gave her a small bow, indicating that she should precede him into the club.

More than a little stunned, she passed through the velvet rope into the club's dark interior. Heavy music throbbed through the walls, reverberating from the door beyond the counter in front of them.

"That's twenty each." The girl behind the counter looked bored as she waited for them to cough up the cover charge. Alexis reached for her purse but Alucard had already produced the cash to cover the both of them. The girl took the money and picked up a marker. Alexis held out her hand and got an 'x' marked on the back of it. The girl turned to the vampire and stopped with a frown. He grinned at her as she scowled at the black gloves on his hands.

"I don't need a mark," he said, capturing her eyes. She didn't even answer, just smiling and nodding beatifically. Alucard led the way through the far door, plunging them into a dark room full of flashing lights and human bodies. Hard, thumping club music assaulted their ears and sent vibrations through the concrete floor.

Several people cleared a path for them. Well, they cleared a path for _Alucard_. Alexis was just along for the ride. The vampire stalked through the crowd toward one of the many bars. One of the bartenders nodded at him.

"Whatever she wants," the vampire said, nodding at Alexis. She blinked, not expecting that, but why else would they have come over to the actual bar? _He_ certainly didn't drink alcohol…or so she assumed. She hadn't actually asked him if he _could_ consume anything besides blood. Pushing the random thought aside, she leaned against the bar.

"I'll have a screwdriver." She glanced over her shoulder at the packed dance floor. "And a Carling."

The bartender nodded and turned to prepare the drinks. Alucard grinned at her and leaned down to speak into her ear.

"Can you dance?"

She scowled at him.

"Anyone can dance. It's just moving to the beat of the music. If you want to know if I dance _well_…that depends on who's watching and how many beers they've had."

He pulled back and grinned at her. Damn it, she was flirting with him and she hadn't meant to. A small smile had started to curve her lips and she quickly locked it down. Somehow, she didn't think flirting would impress him. He'd probably heard every pick-up line invented by man…or woman.

The screwdriver arrived and she knocked it all back in one gulp. It probably wasn't her brightest idea, but she needed the liquid courage. The bartender set her beer in front of her and before she had a chance to reach for her purse, Alucard laid down the cash for the drinks.

Well, that was a nice change. She always had to pay for her own drinks with Jared. She picked up the beer, sipped it and looked up at the vampire. He must have some sort of plan. He looked around the club, tall enough to see above everyone's heads. His eyes locked on something near the dance floor and that creepy grin curled his lips again.

"Do you see the man in blue next to the dance floor sitting with the woman in red?"

Alexis scanned the tables and spotted the couple. The woman had her hand on the man's arm as she leaned in to shout something in his ear. He seemed to ignore her, watching the dance floor with predatory eyes. Alexis nodded.

"Good. You will go over there, ask them to watch your beer while you dance and then you will dance near them. Shall we see how many beers he's had?"

Alexis arched an eyebrow at him but he hadn't asked her to do anything insane, although she'd be a fool to drink from any glass or bottle she'd left unattended in a bar. Keeping that in mind, she sucked down about half the bottle as she pushed her way through the crowd.

Breaking through the bodies at the tables near the dance floor, she spotted her target. The woman appeared to have given up on whatever she was trying to tell the man and just sat back, watching the dance floor with forlorn eyes.

"Excuse me!" Alexis raised her voice to be heard above the pounding music as she held up her beer bottle. "Mind if I leave this here? They don't like drinks on the dance floor."

The woman narrowed her eyes but the man nodded with a smile. Setting the beer on the table, Alexis turned and headed for the dance floor. She stayed close to the edge, near the table with her beer. Closing her eyes, she swayed with the beat of the music and then let it pull her into a hip-popping, hard-driving dance. In moments, a fine sheen of sweat covered her skin, but she reveled in the feel of her body moving to the heavy drum beat throbbing through the air.

Jared hadn't liked for her to do this. He couldn't dance for shit and where her meager assets didn't draw much attention, her dancing did. As the song shifted into a screaming guitar riff, she felt another body brush against hers. She turned to find the man in blue right up on her, grinning and matching her movements. She looked over his shoulder to the table with her beer. The woman sat there, watching them with angry but resigned eyes. Alexis faltered in her movements. She knew that look. She'd worn it herself when Jared ditched her for the blond last week.

She blinked and watched Alucard move up behind the woman, bending down to say something in her ear. She felt a spurt of jealousy and suddenly didn't feel as bad for the woman as she leaned toward the vampire, a slow smile spreading across her face.

Alexis threw herself into the dance with a vengeance, partially to wipe that smile off the woman's face and partially to see if she could distract the vampire. She cocked her hip, describing a circle with her pelvis, her upper body undulating to match the motion. Hands touched her sides, the man in blue convinced she'd turned up the heat for his benefit. Alucard glanced up, giving her an appreciative once over, then with a grin, he turned back to the woman at the table. She listened to whatever he had to say, smiled and nodded. Rising from her seat, she followed him as he stalked through the crowd toward the back of the club.

Okay, yeah. This wasn't a date, it was a hunt with her as bait, but Alexis couldn't deny that she wanted to chase the two of them down and rip the slut's hair out at the roots. Instead, she turned to face the man, coincidentally dislodging his hands from her sides. She put a hand on his shoulder to steady herself as she pushed herself up on tiptoe and spoke in his ear.

"I think someone just poached your date."

Scowling, the man turned, his eyes going to the empty table. He shouted something unintelligible and started pushing his way off the dance floor. Alexis followed him, grinning. Served him right for abandoning his date like that, even if she did seem perfectly happy to follow the next guy that came along.

She had warned the man fast enough that he was able to follow the vampire and the woman through the crowd. A door in the back of the club swung open and Alucard slipped through it with his prey, several loose black straps flaring as the door swung shut behind them.

The man in blue doubled his efforts to get through the crowd, shoving past people with no thought to courtesy or apology. By the time he stumbled out into the alley behind the club, the vampire had his prey pressed up against a wall, his face buried in her throat. Her eyes fluttered closed as the door swung shut behind them.

"Hey! Bastard!"

The man crossed the alley, grabbing for a fistful of the black straps that crisscrossed the vampire's back. Alucard whirled, turning on the man with grinning, blood-stained teeth, his fangs clearly visible.

Alexis swallowed hard and took a step back. The jealousy she'd felt drained away. After all, in the end, the woman was nothing more than prey, and she…well…she didn't know what she was, but she didn't think it was simple prey.

"What the hell? What've you done to her, you sick bastard?"

A low chuckle bubbled up out of Alucard's chest, his head tilted to the side.

"I just had a taste. You barely noticed her missing. She owed you nothing the moment you abandoned her for another. Did you expect her to wait for you?"

"She damn well better wait for me! And you keep your sick, perverted hands off her!"

The man reared back to hit the vampire and to Alexis's shock, the punch landed on Alucard's jaw, turning the vampire's grinning face to the side. The man hit him again and a third time. The vampire went down as though he were a normal mortal man bested in a fight.

Alexis couldn't get her mouth to close. She'd seen Alucard rip through the man that had tried to rape her. Did this guy have kryptonite in his fists or something?

The man kicked the heap of beaten vampire and then turned to the woman.

"Olivia! Did he hurt you? Fucker better not have touched you."

A low, dark chuckle emanated from the heap of black leather on the ground.

"Pathetic human! You are so blind, you refuse to see what is right in front of you!"

The body on the ground seemed to melt into a heap of black sand which trickled up into a humanoid form. What should have been hair danced in tendrils around the thing's head as a pair of livid red eyes opened. Sharp, gleaming fangs appeared in the darkness, gaping in a lolling grin.

The man turned, caught sight of the shadowy monster and screamed in a high-pitched voice that would put an eight year old girl to shame. Laughing, the shadow surged up to latch onto his throat. Blood gushed down the man's front as the scream cut off. Crimson rivulets poured down Alucard's face as it formed out of the shadows he'd been. Alexis blinked as she realized the man wasn't going to survive that kind of damage. A cold lump settled in her stomach as she realized she'd led a man to his death. She wasn't stupid enough to try to stop the vampire, but she seriously started to rethink her cavalier attitude about the creature living with her.

She watched as Alucard sucked the blood down, black tendrils snaking out to consume the corpse as he drained it dry. When the tendrils receded, nothing remained of the man that had danced with her.

"You didn't have to kill him," she said, voice cracking in a throat gone dry with nerves and regret. "He was an asshole, but he didn't deserve to die."

Alucard turned, arching an eyebrow at her. A slow grin spread across his face.

"Oh? You think so?" He looked down at the blood splatters on the ground. "You might not think so had you recognized him, but the last time you saw him, you were drunk and the light was too dim for mortal eyes. That was the second man from the other night when you were almost raped…by him and his friend. He'd planned to do the same to this one, but with more fatal results. I think he earned his fate."

Alucard turned to deal with the swooning woman, Olivia, while Alexis stared at the blood spatters on the ground, blinking in stunned shock.

**A/N: So, I had to do a drool worthy Bondagecard scene. I love that outfit so much! But sadly, Alucard is probably one of the few guys in the world that can pull it off. Heh.**


	8. Ch 7: Assault

**Assault**

Alexis unzipped her purse, scowling as she dug for her keys. Once again, she'd gone out, trolling bars and restaurants for a waitressing position and no one would talk to her. She was beginning to think that Mr. Dunagan had blacklisted her. It wouldn't surprise her. The man was malicious enough to do it.

Her fingers closed over her keys, clear at the bottom of her bag and tucked off in the corner. Damn the laws of physics that made heavy things…like metal keys…fall to the bottom of a bag when jostled by things like walking. Pulling them out, she reached for the door and a cold hand closed over her mouth.

She jerked as an arm wrapped around her middle and an elbow dug painfully into her shoulder. She dropped her purse and keys, heaving against the unforgiving arms that held her. She clawed at the cold flesh across her middle, but with her elbows pinned, she couldn't get a good angle to do any kind of damage.

Cool lips brushed against her ear.

"So, you're his new plaything. I was starting to think he'd wallow in his self pity for eternity. I wonder if he truly cares for you or if you're just a distraction."

She didn't know the voice. It was a man's tenor with a tendency to squeak. It might have made her laugh if it hadn't had that malicious lilt that sent chills down her spine. A cold wetness slithered up the side of her neck and she shuddered as she realized he'd licked her. She wriggled, trying to break his hold but he kept her in place with ease.

She swallowed hard and a shot of adrenaline raced through her as a couple of things clicked together in her head. Cold lips, cold tongue and a grip like steel bars wrapped around her…she didn't need to feel the sharp prick of fangs in her throat to know a vampire held her.

"I would have you give him a message from my master, but your brain will be mush by the time you get the chance to."

His words only had a moment to register before the fangs sank into her flesh. Pain seared through her, racing down her spine on a wave of adrenaline. Her back arched, trying to pull away from the mouth latched onto her neck as tears sprang to her eyes. A scream bubbled up in the back of her throat but the hand over her mouth muffled it to a panicked mumble.

She thrashed in his grip, desperate to escape the burning ache of his fangs in her throat. He drew on the wound, ripping the blood from her veins and swallowing it in great draughts. What little strength she had seemed to leech out of the wound in her neck, feeding the vampire's greedy maw. She sagged in his arms, her eyes fluttering closed, holding onto consciousness by a hairsbreadth.

To her relief, he released her, the pain settling into a dull ache, as opposed to the screaming agony it had been. The vampire laughed as he released her, watching her body crumple to the ground. He stooped to pick up her keys, using them to open the door's recalcitrant lock. He pushed the door open but didn't enter the apartment. Instead, he tossed her purse and keys inside and hauled her up, wrapping arms around her chest, hands covering her breasts and squeezing.

"Too bad there's no time for a little stress relief, but I got places to be."

Tears of mortification, rage and frustration leaked from the corners of her eyes. She tried to order her body to move, to fight, but it wouldn't respond. Her knees refused to cooperate, wobbling and flopping like overcooked noodles. She felt like she was trapped in a waking dream, where the great, evil thing sat on her chest, laughing at her as it drained her soul and no matter how loud she screamed inside her head, she just kept on sleeping.

The vampire heaved her through the door, recoiling from something that seemed to repulse him from the opening.

"If you're lucky, no one will come along to rape you and rob you blind until he comes back. Although, I suppose it doesn't matter. By the time he gets here, you won't care anymore…unless you're a virgin…and what are the odds of that?"

Cackling, the creature left her there with the door wide open, lying in a heap on her floor. One arm started to tingle as it went numb from the position she had landed in when he'd tossed her inside. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes as she struggled to move and nothing responded except her eyelids, blinking the tears away. Darkness ate at the edges of her vision and she fought to hold onto consciousness. It was a losing battle and before long, the darkness claimed her.

She woke to hands rolling her over onto her back. Her numb arm exploded in pins and needles almost immediately. She blinked, blearily peering up at a red duster, shaggy black hair under a red fedora and orange tinted vintage Willson safety glasses.

"Alucard?" To her joy and relief, her vocal cords worked again, as did the rest of her muscles…sort of. She tried to lift her good arm, and it responded, but failed almost immediately, flopping to the side. The vampire's lips turned down in a scowl as he cleared the hair away from the bitten side of her neck. Strands caught in the dried blood sent spikes of pain through her tender flesh as they ripped away from the wound.

He reached up to pull the glasses down his nose, revealing livid red eyes. He leaned close to examine the wound and his lips pulled back in a grimace.

"You've been bitten."

"Yeah." She tried to sit up, but a general lassitude suffused her limbs. She _could_ move, but her body didn't want to and her movements felt as weak and uncoordinated as a newborn babe's.

"Who did this?"

"I didn't exactly catch his name." She scowled up at the vampire but the muscles of her face trembled with the effort. Even talking left her shaking with exhaustion. She remembered how he'd left her apartment wide open and a surge of adrenaline counteracted a bit of her lassitude. She convulsed, trying to sit up and look at the front door; her body wasn't ready for that much movement and she flopped back down into a prone position. "The door. Did you close the door?"

"It's closed. Alexis, are you a virgin?"

"What?" she lifted a hand, trying to shade her eyes from the kitchenette's lights and it flopped down onto her forehead. She tried to move the other arm and it screamed with pins and needles. Bad idea.

"I asked if you're a virgin. It's not a hard question."

"What is it with you people and virginity?" She scowled at him, remembering her attacker mentioned something about virginity. Alcuard reached into his duster and pulled out a gleaming silver gun with an insanely long barrel. Her eyes latched onto the weapon, widening with fear.

"Answer the question."

"No. No, I'm not." She wanted to tell him it wasn't any of his business, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the gun in his hand. He lifted it bringing it to bear on her temple. She gasped, convulsing as she tried to scramble away from the business end of the weapon. "What are you doing?"

"You are an unchaste human that has been bitten by a vampire. You're turning into a ghoul, an unholy servant answerable only to the vampire that created you. You must be destroyed, now."

There wasn't even a hint of emotion in his voice. If she'd ever harbored any illusion that he cared even one whit for her, it was shattered, now.

"Please. Please don't. I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't feel…ghoulish."

Alucard frowned, reaching up to remove his glasses entirely. His eyes raked over her face and down her body. He set the glasses aside and reached out to lift one of her eyelids, examining the eyeball.

"How long has it been since he bit you?"

"I don't know. He grabbed me when I got home. That was around nine." She winced as her voice cracked with a touch of hysteria.

"Three hours." The vampire sat back in a kneeling position, one foot and one knee on the ground. The gun dangled in his grasp, pointing at the floor. "You shouldn't be coherent anymore. The change to ghoul is swift, much faster than to vampire. You are certain you're not a virgin?"

"The guy was small, but not _that_ small." She scowled up at him, relieved that he'd stopped pointing the gun at her, but completely and utterly confused. "You know, I'd love it if I understood what was going on."

She shifted the arm that had gone numb. The pins and needles had faded to a faint twinge, like a mild electric shock, but her body still wouldn't cooperate enough to let her sit up. She _really_ wanted to sit up.

"Look, I'm feeling a little vulnerable laying here on my back with you waving a gun around. Why does a vampire need a gun anyway? Help me get to the couch."

The vampire blinked at her for a moment and then bowed his head, tucking the gun away in the folds of his duster. He gathered her in his arms and stood. It might have felt romantic except that her head lolled, sending spikes of pain through her bitten neck and her arm dangled like a bit of cut yarn.

He carried her to the couch and set her down, arranging her arms in a relatively comfortable position. Her head flopped back against the cushion, baring her throat and straining the torn skin. She tried to lift her head but it wobbled and fell back again.

The vampire cocked his head at her with a thoughtful frown. Retreating to the bedroom, he returned with her pillow and wedged it behind her head. Much better.

"Thank you," she said with an exhausted sigh. "Now, would you mind explaining why you felt the need to pull a gun on me when I've already been assaulted once tonight?"

Alucard crossed over to the loveseat and sat, leaning forward with his elbows braced on his knees.

"If you turn into a ghoul, I _will_ destroy you."

"That's nice. Now, what's a ghoul?"

"A ghoul…a vampire's servant, previously human. They resemble zombies in appearance and nature but can only be created by the fangs of a vampire."

Alexis frowned, perusing her limited knowledge of vampire mythology. She'd already figured out that some things were way off…like sunlight restrictions. Other things were spot on…like blood drinking and, apparently, invitations to enter homes. That didn't even make sense. Did garlic work?

Realizing her mind was wandering, she frowned and wrenched her scattered thoughts back to the subject at hand.

"So…does everyone bitten by a vampire turn ghoulish or is it something the vampire has to consciously cause?"

"It is a reaction of the fangs piercing the flesh. A substance is injected when a vampire bites."

"Like a snake's venom."

Alucard nodded, sitting back and crossing his legs at the knee.

"My previous masters compared it so, as well. If the bitten human is chaste and of the opposite sex, they will become a fledgling, a vampire in transition with the potential to become a full vampire. Everyone else becomes a ghoul unless they are fully annihilated."

"Like when you do that consuming thing with the shadows." Alexis turned the new information around in her head and frowned. "What about the woman from last week? She didn't look like she was going all ghouly, and nothing you say can convince me that _she_ was a virgin."

Alucard chuckled, a smile spreading across his face.

"I did not bite her. I used a tool to pierce her skin." He reached into his duster and pulled out a small silver item that looked a bit like a guitar finger pick, but honed to a needle sharp point. Alexis blinked at the item, scowling.

"So, something doesn't add up," she said. "I guarantee you that I'm not a virgin. I've definitely been bitten. If what you say is true, I should be shambling out the door in search of brains right about now, but I'm not."

"Ghouls don't seek brains unless their master orders them to, but it _is_ a quandary. By all rights, you should at least be dead."

"And I'm not."

"That might be debatable. But…no. I can hear your heartbeat."

"You can…what?!"

Alucard shot her a malicious grin and refused to answer her outburst. She growled, baring her teeth, but even if she'd had any way of punishing him for being a pain in the ass, she couldn't _move_. At least, not enough to do anything effectual.

"Whatever is going on, I am _not_ happy about it. My body doesn't work right anymore."

"I can put you out of your misery," Alucard said, producing the gun again and grinning at her. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You have a twisted sense of humor. Put that away."

"As you command." He slid the gun back into his duster.

"And no killing me by any other method unless you've confirmed that I'm already dead." Alexis frowned as the realized the absurdity of that statement. But, then, when she took into account the existence of vampires, and apparently ghouls, it didn't seem quite as absurd anymore.

"I can wait."

She gave him a hard look. He acted as though her death was a foregone conclusion. She couldn't assume he was right, though, even if she wanted to. With her luck, she'd assume she would die soon, stay home from work tomorrow, get fired, and she'd _live_, but in more dire straits than before.

Oh god…work! How could she go to work, knowing there was a vampire out there that might attack her? Had, in fact, already attacked her.

She reached up to touch the bite mark on her neck and realized with a start and a small spurt of joy that her arm didn't flop about anymore. She pulled her hand away, examining her blood stained fingertips. Alucard narrowed his eyes at her, a small smile curving his lips, as though expecting her to do…something. She dropped her hand and gave him an arch look.

"It appears the body is starting to work again. I don't know what's going through your head, but don't look at me like that."

The vampire grinned, tilting his head in a small bow. She pushed herself forward, testing the limits of her recovery. To her immense relief, everything responded as it should. She stood, only feeling a little wobbly and shot a triumphant look at the vampire. He slid his glasses back on, giving her a blank look.

"Now, I just have to figure out how to keep the damn vampire from sinking fangs into me again."

Alucard's sharp, pointy teeth flashed as he grinned from ear to ear and Alexis couldn't figure out, for the life of her, what amused him so much.


	9. Ch 8: No Zombies Here

**Chapter 8: No Zombies Here**

Although Alexis could move again, exhaustion rolled through her as she prepared a small meal for herself. Alucard watched her like a hawk, waiting for…something. Bringing her bowl of noodle soup to the living area, she gave him a narrow look.

"What?"

He grinned at her.

"I'm waiting."

She almost asked him what he was waiting for, but she already knew the answer. She felt like an injured gazelle lost in the desert with vultures circling overhead…waiting.

"I don't think you need to watch me quite so closely. I'm sure you'll notice if I start to lurch randomly around the room."

"Perhaps I find you fascinating."

Alexis snorted with laughter and blew on her spoonful of soup to cool it.

"Yeah, my life is oh, so interesting. They should make a movie out of it."

He didn't grace that comment with an answer. She avoided looking at him as she sipped at the hot soup. At least that whole passing fancy thing seemed to have faded. She found it harder to look at him with any romantic interest after staring down the barrel of his gun.

"I suppose if you insist on becoming neither a ghoul nor a fledgling, then that wound needs to be bandaged."

Alexis reached up to touch the drying blood on her neck. She still wore a bandage on her wrist from slashing it last week. She'd been wounded more in the last eight days than she had in the year before that. Part of her wanted to blame it on the vampire, but if not for him, she probably would have died days ago, from suicide if not the actual rape he'd saved her from.

"I need a shower. I'll bandage it after that."

He nodded, and though she couldn't see his eyes behind the orange lenses he wore, it felt like his attention shifted so that it didn't bear down on her quite so hard. She finished her soup in peace.

After the shower washed all the dried blood away, she wiped the misty film from the bathroom mirror to examine the bite. Two deep punctures bracketed a line of smaller pinpricks. She'd expected torn flesh and maybe a chunk of skin missing, but it looked clean, almost neat. It certainly didn't look like it should hurt as much as it did.

Donning her pajamas, she picked up the first aid kit and stepped out into the bedroom. She was going to have to restock the damn thing soon. Alucard sat on her bed, leaning forward to brace his elbows against his knees.

"Still not zombiefied," she said, stooping to turn on the lamp beside her bed. The vampire never seemed to bother with turning lights on.

"You're going to need help bandaging that."

She gave him a narrow, suspicious look, but had to admit she'd been wondering how she would hold a mirror and do the bandaging. The bathroom was too moist right now to do it there and she didn't have any other standing mirrors. Sighing, she set the first aid kit next to him and sat down on the bed, tilting her head up to bare the wound. He opened the kit and reached out to touch her jaw, turning her head so he could see her throat better.

"Why is it that all the wounds I've taken since I met you are ones I can't comfortably bandage by myself?"

"Serendipity," he said with a grin, smearing antiseptic ointment on the punctures. His touch was surprisingly gentle for someone that had been threatening to shoot her just an hour ago.

"Ha, ha. You should take that comedy routine on the road." She winced and grimaced as pain spiked through her. He placed a piece of gauze over the bite and taped it down. It was too big for band-aids. She'd have to start wearing turtlenecks to keep people from asking questions.

Alucard packed the supplies away and she slumped. The shower had woken her up a little, but the exhaustion of her ordeal returned quickly. The vampire rose to return the first aid kit to the bathroom.

"You should sleep," he said over his shoulder. Alexis blinked and a little spurt of adrenaline shot through her. In theory, she agreed with him, but the idea of sleeping in the same room with a vampire that was waiting to kill her if she turned into a zombie seemed foolish, somehow. What if she sleep-walked for the first time in her life? It could happen. She might never wake up once she fell asleep.

Grinding her teeth, she made herself climb into bed. If Alucard was going to kill her without making sure she wasn't a ghoul, he would have already done it. In all actuality, she probably couldn't ask for a better guard if the other vampire decided to come back. Reaching up, she turned the light off and closed her eyes, determined to get to sleep.

A loud, incessant ringing woke her out of a sound sleep. She rolled over and groped for the alarm clock on her bedside table, wincing as pain stabbed through the side of her neck. She silenced the infernal thing, but encountered something draped over the clock.

Fumbling for the lamp switch, she blinked in the sudden light, examining what she had found. It was a necklace, a fine silver chain with an ornate gothic cross strung on it. She normally wouldn't wear something in that style, but it didn't take a genius to realize Alucard had left it for her and what he intended it for. Although, if such a thing was effective against vampires, how had _he_ handled it to put it there?

Sitting up in bed, she pushed the question aside, locking it in the same space she'd kept the coming and going without a key question. Maybe someday, she'd get an answer for this one too.

Smiling at the gift, she slipped it over her head and rose to fetch her work clothes.

To her surprise, she hadn't dreamed at all last night that she could remember. With her luck, the nightmares would set in tonight. She changed, pulling a dark purple turtleneck over her head and accenting it with a tasteful silver pendant. The cross went under the shirt. The last thing she needed was people asking why she was suddenly wearing religious icons when she never had before.

Donning her slacks and dress shoes, she checked the mirror to make sure the bandage didn't show and headed out the door.

The day turned out to be thankfully slow. Even so, her eyes drooped and she felt utterly wrung out by the time she clocked out at four-thirty. She could almost thank Mr. Dunagan for firing her so she didn't have to rush to her second job. Almost.

She clung to the leather strap that kept her standing upright on the swaying bus. She could have claimed a seat, but she was afraid she would fall asleep and miss her stop. She didn't want to end up in Surrey.

As it was, it took her a moment to realize they had reached her stop and she had to scramble to get off the trolley. She set off down the sidewalk as the vehicle pulled away. The sun sat low on the horizon, less than a couple of hours from setting. Alexis hurried her steps, wanting to be home well before dusk fell.

A cold chill slithered down her spine as she turned onto the street with her apartment building and the hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention. She slowed her steps, suddenly averse to completing her journey home. She stopped, two buildings down and a figure stepped out of the shadows. The shade from the building across the street picked out his features in sharp relief. Hair that was blond in the light of the hall outside her apartment turned dishwater brown in the failing afternoon light. He cocked his head to the side, baring brilliant white fangs that had drawn her blood less than twenty-four hours ago. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and started toward her, whistling tunelessly between his teeth.

Stifling a gasp, she turned with every intention of fleeing the way she had come, but he was there, leering down at her with those gleaming, sharp teeth. The front of her brain demanded an answer for how he could have traversed the space between them in an eye blink. The back of her brain, more concerned with survival, screamed at her to run.

She took a step back, shaking her head in denial.

"Well, well. Can it be possible that chastity is not dead after all?" He grinned at her, a malicious glint in his blue eyes. Shouldn't they be red? Alucard's were red. She turned to flee toward her apartment and he was there, again blocking her path. Were there _two_ of them? She glanced over her shoulder but the sidewalk stretched out, empty behind her.

"Oh, don't fret. I'm sure we'll get along famously. If you please me and mind your manners, I may even offer you my blood, someday."

She turned back to the monster, her stomach flip flopping. Her weariness had fled, crushed under a flood of adrenaline. The cross. She had to get to the cross.

"Who are you?" She reached up, as though to clutch at her throat where he'd bitten her the day before. Her finger slipped under her collar and hooked the chain of the necklace Alucard had left for her that morning.

"Oh, I don't see why names are necessary. You will call me master and I will call you servant."

She froze, her fear crystallizing into a clear, sudden rage. She would serve this disgusting worm when he dragged her down to Hell in chains and not a moment sooner. Baring her teeth, she hooked her thumb under the other side of the chain and pulled the cross out in one swift, smooth movement.

It came out blazing, a clean, brilliant white light that bathed the vampire with holy radiance. He screamed, a high pitched, girlish sound as he cowered away from the cross. Alexis grinned with a mean slant to her brows and advanced on the creature. He keened and scuttled back from her.

"How? You're newly made! How can you stand the presence of a blessed cross?" He glared at her through the spaces between his fingers. The hands that sheltered his face began to grow red, as though placed too close to a glowing hot furnace.

It took her a moment to puzzle out what he meant by 'newly made'. She thought back to some of the information Alucard had given her the night before and a couple of things clicked. Obviously, this guy didn't know how she'd survived a vampire bite with her humanity intact, either. Well, that wasn't terribly comforting.

"I'm not a vampire, you pathetic worm."

"But you're not a ghoul!"

She almost laughed at the plaintive confusion in his voice. Instead, she took another step forward, lifting the cross to brandish it at him.

"Name. Your name, worm!"

He cringed away from her and she wondered why he didn't run. She certainly couldn't stop him from fleeing if he got it into his head to do so.

"James! James Felder!"

She didn't know the name. It certainly didn't sound like a vampire name, either. Of course, the only true vampire name she'd ever heard was Alucard's. Did he have a last name?

Distracted by her wandering thoughts, she missed the flick of James's eyes a moment before he lunged for her, striking at the hand that held the cross. Luckily, she had wisely left it hanging around her neck and it simply fell to the end of its chain instead of dropping to the ground. James screamed as it swung on the chain, sweeping across his fingers. Alexis stumbled back from the attack, shocked that he would come at her when the cross caused him such obvious distress.

A dark chuckle echoed around them as Alexis caught her balance and the vampire's head came up like a hound scenting prey…or a very dangerous predator. His eyes rolled between lids pulled wide with panic and crimson streaks marred his cheeks. Were those…tears?

"A worm, indeed."

The shadows around them suddenly seemed deeper, as though the sun had fled from the sky in a moment, fearful of the monstrosity that rose from the ground, forming out of the darkness like a sentient Rorschach inkblot. A sea of red eyes opened in the darkness, trained on the vampire cowering in abject fear between the cross-wielding human and the shadowy terror.

Alexis swallowed hard, instinctive fear forming a lump in her throat, but she held her ground. Although she hadn't seen him quite like this, she recognized the tendrils of darkness that danced around the shadowy head as belonging to Alucard. One particular set of eyes bore a familiar shape and a fanged maw opened just below them.

"Command me, girl. Order his death and it will be so." Alucard's voice echoed around them, filled with malice and anticipation. Alexis blinked, staring down at the cowering, terrified vampire. Next to Alucard, he seemed like little more than a mewling mongrel pup. Did she want him to die?

Oh hell, yes. But first, she'd remembered something.

"Yesterday, you said you had a message from your master. Who is your master?"

James keened, shaking his head frantically and scrabbling at the ground as though something held him in place. White-gloved hands formed from the writhing black shadows, shooting out to grasp the pathetic creature by the throat. One of them held that frighteningly long gun, training it between the vampire's eyes. James thrashed, eyes wide with panic, more like a wild animal than a thinking being.

"She'll…she'll destroy…destroy everything! You! Me! All of England will fall in her quest to destroy _you_, No Life King! Your lives, your power, your _heart_! She'll leave you broken and battered, but alive to regret the day your mother bore you into this world!" Those panicked eyes rolled to lock onto Alexis. The worm's mouth opened but nothing more came out. He convulsed, irises gone red rolling up into his skull. Strings of total gibberish burst forth from his lips, the tone that of a man pleading for his life but none of it made any sense. It didn't even sound like a foreign language. He had broken somehow, his mind snapped. Alexis scowled at him and shook her head.

"Put him out of my misery."

The gun roared and a hole the size of her fist ripped through the worm's forehead, splattering blood, bone and brains across the concrete. The body fell to ashes almost immediately and Alexis dropped the cross on its chain. The glow died away, leaving only the intricate silver icon resting against her shirt.

The shadows receded, coalescing into the form of the tall, red-clad vampire. Alexis frowned and whirled, looking around the empty street. How could all of that have happened and not a single witness show up to complicate matters? She turned back to Alcuard, scowling.

"Where are all the people?"

He just grinned, stalking toward her with the remnants of the afternoon sun glinting off of his orange tinted spectacles. Feeling a sudden urge to test a theory, she reached up to grasp the cross, holding it up as through to ward him off. His grin widened as he threw his head back in a wild laugh. Reaching out, he grasped the cross in his gloved hand, yanking on it to break the chain. Alexis lurched and her neck burned where the metal had cut into it.

"I am no babe, to cower before a piddling icon such as this."

Alexis glared up at him. By all rights, she should be terrified. James had overpowered her with only a modicum of effort and Alucard's capabilities put his to shame. He could destroy her with a sneeze, but she'd known that. She couldn't live in fear of him every day. Not if she wanted to hold onto her sanity. Reaching out, she snatched the cross from his hand, a little surprised when he let her do it.

"It was worth a try," she said, dropping the icon into her pocket. "And you didn't have to break it."

Alucard chuckled as she stalked past him, headed for her apartment and some much needed sleep.


	10. Ch 9: Poaching Vampires

**I find it rather entertaining that I post a chapter for The Formative Years and get a bunch of follows for this story. *grin* I'm glad you folks enjoy it. I've been writing on it like crazy lately and, while The Formative Years is shaping up like a manga or anime series, this one looks like it's going to end up a bit like a novel…probably the length of one too. O.o**

**I'm really having fun with it. Please let me know what you guys think. I live for reviews. They let me make a connection with my readers and that's a really amazing thing for an unpublished writer. Maybe even for a published writer. I wouldn't know. But maybe someday I'll get to find out! *wink***

**Chapter 9: Poaching Vampires**

Alexis jerked awake at the wound of a heavy fist pounding on the front door. A disorienting sense of déjà vu washed over her before she remembered that Joey would come to collect Finny's money today.

Grumbling, she rolled out of bed and reached for her robe, pulling it on. After being bitten, facing down her attacker and seeing Alucard in full nightmare form, Finny's goons didn't seem nearly so scary as they had.

She grabbed the envelope with the money Alucard had given her as she headed for the living room. The wall shook as the pounding started up again.

"I told you last week, you don't have to break the damn door!" She yanked the door open and felt the blood drain from her face at the sight of the red head on the other side. He had a snub nose and a smattering of freckles across his cheekbones. His fair skin held a perpetual pink tinge, as though he didn't have enough pigment to his flesh to cover up the blood underneath. With a head full of riotous curls, he would have looked adorable if not for the mean glint in his stormy eyes.

"Uh…Finny. Hi. I didn't expect you to come collect in person." She glanced behind him, spotting Joey slouching against her neighbor's wall. The muscle mountain stood next to him, arms crossed. Both of them towered over their boss by almost a head.

"Let me in, Alex."

Alexis scowled at the man that had been her bane for years. She wanted to tell him to shove his orders up his ass, but you didn't talk like that to Finnegan McElroy. Especially not if he had dirt on you. Sighing, she stepped back, pulling the door open and gesturing with a hand to invite him in.

He stepped over the threshold, eyes sweeping around her apartment as though looking for something. Alexis glanced at Joey, wondering if he'd said something to Finny about the coffin or her attempt to pay him off to keep quiet about it. He could have given all of the money to Finny and narced on her. The red head turned back to her, eyes narrowed.

"I've heard you have a new friend," he said, eyes flicking around her living room again. "A rather close friend. Close enough that he's living with you."

Alexis scowled. What did it matter to him if she decided to shack up with someone? As long as he got his money, he should have nothing to do with her life.

"I live in a one bedroom apartment. Where would this mysterious new roommate sleep?"

"That _is_ the question, isn't it?" Finny turned those dark green-gray eyes on her. "If he was a lover, he'd naturally sleep in your bed with you, but you call him a roommate. Curious."

"I never admitted to having someone living with me!"

Finny smirked at her.

"You don't have to. We've seen him here. We've seen him arrive and not leave."

Alexis felt her eyes widen and a sudden lump formed in her throat. Had they seen him phase through the walls? Had they seen him dissolve into a pool of shadows? That could explain Finny's sudden interest. He had always been fascinated with the supernatural. Ghosts, demons, powers outside the normal human purview. She'd thought him crazy, but now that she'd met Alucard, he didn't seem quite so mad anymore.

Finny smiled, baring crooked, stained teeth. Alexis shuddered.

"Where is he, Alexis? I know about the coffin. I know he's not human. I want to talk to him."

Her stomach lurched and she shifted her glare to Joey. He must have said something. He shook his head ever so slightly and hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the blond bodyguard behind him. Muscle boy gave her a triumphant leer. She hadn't even thought about him.

"Finny, please don't. He might kill you." Not that she cared about his death. In fact, she'd gladly dance on his grave, given the chance, except…

"You know what will happen if I die," Finny said with a sneer. "It'd only be a matter of time."

"She may know, but I am _morbid_ with curiosity."

Alexis winced at that voice. Wasn't it too early for vampires to be awake? She turned to see the monster himself walking through the door to her bedroom…literally. Did he _have_ to do that? They didn't know how much Finny really knew and how much he was fishing for. Now, the vampire had erased all doubts.

"Fascinating." Finny headed toward the red-clad vampire, ignoring her entirely. He walked around the monster like a buyer at a horse fair. Would he try to look at Alucard's teeth? Alexis had to stifle a hysterical giggle at the visual that popped into her head at that thought. "A real, living, breathing blood drinker."

Alucard watched the man with an amused smirk that widened into a fang-baring grin. "No. I have not lived, nor breathed in the human sense of the term for many centuries."

Finny stopped, staring at the fangs and needle sharp dentistry in that sadistic grin. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning. The vampire lifted his head and Alexis could feel those red eyes behind their orange lenses lock onto her.

"Such a rude hostess, Alexis. Won't you introduce me to your guests?"

Alexis rolled her eyes toward the ceiling as though begging a higher power…_any_ higher power…for the patience to deal with the infuriating vampire. She glanced toward Joey and found him peeking out from behind muscle boy who stood, arms crossed and eyes hooded. The blond exuded calm, but something about the tilt of his shoulders and tension in his arms gave off a sense of fear, like he'd really prefer to bolt for the door.

"Fine. Finny, Joey…muscle boy, this is Alucard, vampire and my new roommate. Alucard, meet muscle boy, bodyguard, Joey, crony and Finny, blackmailer." She gestured to each one as she named them. Finny shot her a dirty look over his shoulder.

"Information broker," he said, turning back to the vampire.

Alexis sighed and muttered under her breath, "Same thing."

Ignoring her, Finny stuck his hand out, plastering an oily smile on his face. Alucard looked at the proffered hand and a sardonic grin spread across his face. He took the hand in his own, gloved one, and squeezed. Finny's throat worked and his freckles grew considerably more noticeable, but he didn't make a sound as the bones in his hand creaked.

"It's a pleasure, Mr. Alucard," he said, voice only a little strained. The vampire's grin didn't really change, but something about it suddenly seemed overtly threatening.

"Please. Call me count."

Alexis frowned, something tugging at her memory. Why would he make Finny call him count? How cliché was that? It wasn't like he was the real…no. He couldn't be. It was just an affectation of a fictional character. Count Dracula, the vampire, wasn't real.

And two weeks ago, she would have sworn vampires as a species didn't exist. A thousand questions popped into her head and she shoved them into that little space she had reserved for bafflement about Alucard.

"Ah…count. Sure. I can do that." Finny smiled, thrown off by the honorific, but he recovered quickly. "I have to say. These…arrangements seem beneath your station. I could offer you much better accommodations. I have a penthouse in the Victoria Grande, downtown. It's considerably more comfortable than this hovel."

Alexis bristled, fists clenched at her sides. How dare he try to steal _her_ vampire? Sure, there were times she wasn't sure she _wanted_ him, but Finny certainly didn't deserve him, unless it was in a very lethal sense…for Finny.

"Oh, no. No, no, no." She marched across the room, inserting herself between them with her back to Alucard. She glared at Finny and took a step back, pressing against the vampire in an attempt to make him open some space between him and her blackmailer. "I pay you an exorbitant sum of money each month to keep your mouth shut about certain…things. I pay it on time and without complaint. You're not going to poach my vampire, too. Mine!"

She felt the rumble of Alucard's chuckle against her back as he took that step back to open up some space, but as he did, he draped an arm over her shoulder, pulling her with him. She couldn't decide if she liked being pressed against him and didn't have time to worry about it as Finny glared daggers at her.

"So, you haven't told him? That's not very responsible of you. Even a vampire deserves to know when he's living with a _murderer_." Finny smiled, a baring of teeth that had nothing of happiness or good will in it.

"Oh? Murder is it?" Alucard's voice rumbled through his chest and she could feel it against her back. It felt somehow comforting and she decided she might actually like this position, after all. "That sounds like a story I might enjoy hearing."

"So would the police. That murder has remained unsolved for…how long has it been, Alexis?"

She glared at Finny, loathe to answer the question, not because she didn't want Alucard to know. She'd been thinking about telling him, anyway. No, she just hated to do _anything_ Finny told her to.

"Eight years. It's been eight years."

"You murdered someone at age…what? Sixteen?" The vampire sounded surprised and maybe a little impressed. "Was it a crime of passion?"

"No," said Alexis before Finny could. "It was in cold blood. I planned it."

"Which is why all the evidence the police need to convict you is safely tucked away in a safety deposit box with instructions in my will to deliver it to the police if I ever come up dead or missing." Finny leered at her. She glared back, refusing to back down. She didn't really need the reminder of how thoroughly he had her bent over a barrel. He was just showing off.

"It appears you have this all fixed to your advantage," Alucard said. Finny shifted his glare from Alexis to the vampire and his expression melted into a gloating smile.

"I am a very rich, influential man, count. I could make it worth your while to engage in an exchange. Money, women, all the blood you could ever want, and all I'd ask for is a little transformation."

Alexis felt her blood run cold. She didn't think Alucard could turn Finny into a vampire. If the man was a virgin, then she'd eat her shoes without salt, but the fact that he wanted to become something like Alucard…frightening.

Behind her, the vampire threw his head back, laughing in great guffaws of hilarity. His whole body shook with the force of his amusement.

"All the blood I could ever want? Do you wish for the extinction of your species? You have no idea what I am capable of, you simple peasant." He reached into the pocket of Alexis's robe and pulled out the envelope of money she had stuffed there. He held it out to Finny, keeping an arm wrapped around her shoulders. "Take your payment, little man. You have earned it and all that has come before with your machinations, but it will be the last. She is under my protection, now."

The look on Finny's face melted into a fierce scowl. He didn't like being laughed at on a good day, but he could tolerate it if he was getting something he wanted out of it. With Alucard's words, that thin line of tolerance snapped.

"You forget, vampire. I have evidence that will lock your little slut away for the rest of her life!"

Alexis felt a spurt of panic and opened her mouth to assure Finny that Alucard didn't mean it. She'd get his money to him next month, as always. Before a single word came out, the vampire clamped a hand over her mouth.

"You forget, _human_. I have power and abilities that you can only dream of."

Finny's eyes suddenly darted around them, a touch of fear seeping into his expression. Although the vampire felt perfectly solid against her back, Alexis could imagine him melting into tendrils of darkness at the edges. The man's stormy green eyes widened to show white all around the irises. Behind him, Joey bolted for the door, but the knob wouldn't turn. He rattled it and then pounded on the wood, panicked.

Alexis smiled behind the hand over her mouth. She'd never gotten to see Finny frightened before. Despite her certainty that he'd turn her in as soon as he got away, she couldn't help but revel in the fear that crossed his features.

"Oh, god, Finny! Apologize! Promise him whatever he wants! I don't want to die!" Joey ripped at the door, desperate to get out as he dissolved into hysterical sobs.

"It's just an illusion," the red head said as his bodyguard moved up beside him. Muscle boy looked ready to bolt, himself, but Alexis had to give the man props for courage. "He's just manipulating our minds. Don't give in."

Alucard's laugh echoed around the small living room and from either side of her, black tendrils shot out, slamming into the blond bodyguard. His scream ripped through the room as blood burst forth from his body. Alexis watched the panic bloom across Finny's face, watched his resolve and courage shatter under the bombardment of muscle boy's death cries. He broke for the door, joining Joey in his desperate attempt to flee. Together, they pummeled at the door, kicking it and screaming demands for release as the vampire destroyed the muscle-bound human that had followed them to his death.

Suddenly, the door flew open, spilling the two men into the hall. They stumbled but recovered quickly, racing down the hallway. Alexis wondered what her neighbors thought of the commotion as Alucard left her to sink fangs into the bleeding, broken body of the late bodyguard. She'd seen him feed so many times by now that she thought nothing of it as he consumed the body except that he was useful for covering up the crime.

"What a shame," she vampire said, reforming from his shadows. He had an envelope in his hand. "Finny forgot his money. I suppose I'll have to deliver it to him."

He grinned in anticipation. Alexis just sighed and sank onto the couch, putting her head in her hands. As much as she loved the idea of Alucard slowly torturing her nemesis, she couldn't help but picture the contents of that lockbox on its way to the closest police station.

She was doomed.

**A/N: So, does anyone besides me think that Alucard is having entirely too much fun with this whole situation? And it would appear they've claimed each other…sort of… Heehee.**

**One thing I really would like an opinion on…does anyone see even a touch of romance starting here? It's rather hard to put Alucard into a romantic situation, really. He's not really a lovable sort of personality, nor the type to *fall* in love. More like, if it happens, he'd just sort of wake up one day, there, with no clue how it happened and a little befuddled about it and not about to let anyone see that. *grin* I think he's starting to develop something for Alexis, though. What do you guys think?**


	11. Ch 10: Cold Blooded Murder

**Oh my gosh! So many reviews! I love you guys! Those reviews keep me going. This story has just blown up in my head and I'm having so much fun with it. More than that, YOU guys are enjoying it. That makes me want to go dance in the street…except I don't dance well…and cars around here are really fast. :-3**

**So, a lot of you guys have said you don't think Alucard is capable of love or can't picture a romantic relationship between these two. Hmm…shall I take that as a challenge? *grin* I might, although in the end, it's up to the characters. No, really. If they don't want to get together, they won't. They usually don't consult me on that stuff. *grumbles at head strong characters***

**And now, what I think a lot of you might have been anticipating: the answer to what exactly Finny is holding over Alexis's head. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 10: Cold Blooded Murder**

"I'd kill him again, given the choice."

Alexis looked up at the grinning vampire, curious what he would think of her confession. He cocked his head to the side, his grin fading into genuine interest as he moved to take his customary place on the loveseat. She blinked at him, wondering if he would condemn her. A moment later, she chuckled to herself. How could he, after all the people _he_ had killed?

"I had a brother. He was sort of an accident, born when I was fourteen. He was only a year old when it happened." She felt tears pricking the corners of her eyes as she remembered the baby her mother had brought home from the hospital. After almost a decade, she still cried at the thought of him. These tears she refused to wipe away. "Everyone thought it was just an accident, just kids being dumb. Three boys from my school were out, cruising on the back roads in our town, acting like idiots. One drove the truck. The other two had paving stones and cinder blocks in the back.

"They drove up and down the back roads, throwing the stuff at cars as they passed by. Most of the time they missed or just dinted the side of the cars, but one of them…they hit square on the windshield."

She stopped for a moment. She might be willing to shed a few tears for her baby brother, but she refused to break down completely. Maybe if she had kept her head eight years ago, Finny wouldn't have gotten his hands on the evidence he'd used against her for so long.

"My father was driving that car, with my little brother in the backseat. I don't remember if it was a paving stone or a cinder block, but it shattered the windshield. Dad lost control of the car and crashed into a tree. He died on impact. When the car hit, Toby's head snapped forward. They had just changed his car seat to facing forward. He'd grown so fast…

"It ruptured his spinal column. He died on the way to the hospital."

Alexis closed her eyes, the action causing tears to spill down her cheeks. She took a moment to get herself back under control. Talking about Toby always did this to her.

"They didn't even go to jail. I suppose one of them had a powerful daddy. They got a slap on the wrist and their driver's licenses revoked for a year. A year!" She clenched her fists, momentarily reliving the rage she'd felt when the judge handed down the verdict. "It was labeled a tragic accident. The guys swore they hadn't meant to really hurt anyone. They said they didn't think the stuff they were throwing could actually break safety glass."

Alexis shook her head, reaching up to dash the tears from her cheeks. She preferred the anger over the sadness. The anger helped her feel like she could still live her life, like there was a _reason_ to keep living. The sorrow inspired the type of thoughts that had left her pressing a razor into her wrist a week ago.

"I think I could have left well enough alone if it really had been an accident, or even if the guys involved had truly regretted what happened. I think two of them did, but the third…Justin Patzer." She shook her head again. How did she put that kind of malice into words? Even a serial killer had their pattern, their twisted logic. "He made the official apology, just like all of them, but a week later, the rumors started up. He'd let it slip at a party that he was _proud_ of the deaths they'd caused. They said he gloated about how they'd gotten off so easy and if the guy driving the truck had just done as he was told, not one would have known who did it.

"Of course, it was just a rumor, but…I couldn't let it go. I had to know if he was really that vicious."

Alexis fell silent, staring at her hands, clasped in her lap. If she'd been telling her story to a friend, or hell, a normal human, she might expect them to move over to sit next to her, put a hand on her shoulder in sympathy. The vampire stayed where he was, watching her with an opaque look on his face. In a way, she preferred it like this. If he did anything sympathetic, she might fall apart and she did _not_ want to do that. She'd never told anyone her story from beginning to end like this. She wanted to make it through with her pride intact.

"There was only one way to find out…from the horse's mouth, as they say. I started hanging out with his friends, his little gang. At first, none of them would talk to me. They knew who I was, who my dad had been. It wasn't easy to pretend, to agree that it was just a dumb accident, but each lie got easier than the last. It didn't help that Mom was slowly working her way through Dad's life insurance in booze.

"I started dating one of his friends…Joey. Yeah. _That_ Joey. He's always been a crony. Of the lot of them, he seemed the least repulsive…and that did the trick. Once I was just Joey's girlfriend, it was like '_Alexis_' dropped off the map. I became a virtual non-entity. I could have been a particularly lifelike doll."

Alexis snorted with bitter derision.

"In a way, I sort of was, although I guess it was dumb for me to expect Joey to _care_ about me. After all, I was just using him. It only made sense for him to do the same thing to me. I think…maybe…oh, that doesn't matter. Well, I suppose at some point, I got so caught up in the role that I thought they _were_ my new friends. All my old friends abandoned me when I started hanging out with the 'rough' crowd. I can't say I blame them, but with Mom not much more than a drunken shell at home…well, like I said, it doesn't really matter.

"I'd worked my way into their confidence when I finally got what I'd been hunting for. Justin had gotten drunk at a party and started regaling us with some of his more gruesome exploits. To hear him tell it, he'd slept with half of the girls at school and bullied every underweight kid between the ages of six and fifteen that he could find for the last three years. And then he got to his crowning achievement…the deaths."

Alexis glanced up to the avidly rapt vampire and then back down at her hands, knuckles going white with the strength with which she clasped them together.

"I think I had started to believe the rumors were just that…rumors. They'd been my friends for months. Sure, they started out as my enemies, just a group of hoodlums I had to trick into giving up their secrets, but…familiarity breeds contempt, on both sides of the fence, apparently. Finny was Justin's best friend at the time. I don't know what happened between them, but it seems like he goaded him into telling the story…how he'd actually killed a man and a child, caused them to wreck. He was so _proud_ of it. Talked about how they wouldn't have gotten caught at all if his 'wingman' had kept his mouth shut. Bragged about how everyone believed their sob story and let them off with a virtual warning…how he'd be getting his driver's license back in just a couple of months."

Alexis stood suddenly, unable to stay sitting down. She crossed over to the front wall and turned around. The dimensions of her apartment didn't allow much room for pacing, but she moved behind the couch, forming a sort of 'L' shape, behind the couch and then back, down the wall to her bedroom door, turn and start again.

"I don't know how I kept my mouth shut or my face blank. Shock, maybe? Finny kept giving me these looks. I didn't know what he was after. Maybe he just wanted to see me in pain. He certainly looked disappointed as Justin's speech started to slur and some of the other guys started to fidget. Even Joey looked a little uncomfortable with the topic. Only Finny and Justin seemed totally okay with hit. Justin started cursing the two guys that had been there with him, calling them cowards and traitors. I guess that helped a little. They had transferred schools and I think I knew, then, that they really hadn't meant to hurt anyone. But that left Justin. I'd heard it from his own lips. He'd meant it. He'd enjoyed it, took pride in it. I started planning how to kill him that night."

Alexis stopped and looked at Alucard. At some point, he'd shed the orange tinted glasses and his crimson eyes watched her with a sort of neutral curiosity. He cocked an eyebrow at her as she paused. She couldn't say what she wanted from him as she stared at him, but something in that gaze encouraged her to continue.

"I considered all kinds of stuff. There was poison…but what to use? How to administer it? And he might survive it if I didn't get enough into him. There was a knife. Relatively easy to come by, but I knew better than to think that would be easy. I might hit a rib instead of his heart. Just gutting him would take too long to kill him and I might not be strong enough to get it deep enough to guarantee death. I could cut his throat, but getting the positioning right without him realizing what I was doing seemed tricky. I didn't want to risk screwing it up.

"I thought about pushing him down stairs or off a rooftop, but I knew he'd most likely overpower me when I tried. I only had one chance at it. I'm sure there are a million ways to kill a person and _you_ probably know the bulk of them, but I didn't. I still don't. I had no training in any sort of fighting. I needed something easy to use, easy to conceal and virtually guaranteed to succeed. I settled on a gun."

Alexis frowned at the vampire. A slow smile had spread across his face as she talked about all of the methods she had considered to kill Justin. By now, he was grinning like a loon, a manic twinkle in his eyes.

"What's so funny?"

Alucard's grin ratcheted up a notch, if that was possible. He spread white-gloved hands before him as though to prove they were empty.

"Not funny," he said, "simply very arousing. Please. Continue."

Alexis scowled at him, not sure how to feel about that statement. Who got turned on from descriptions of how to kill people? Oh, wait. This was _Alucard_. No. No surprise there.

Turning away, she shoved her hands in her pockets and stared up at the ceiling.

"Needless to say, I didn't own a gun, but Justin did. I thought it was rather ironic justice that I planned to kill him with his own gun. It was a forty caliber Smith and Wesson automatic that he'd gotten from his American uncle. He brought it out to show it off every chance he got. It's funny, really, that everything I knew about that gun I learned from him."

Alexis gave a small laugh, a sort of cross between a snort and a gasp. She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around her middle.

"I had never agreed to go out shooting with the guys before. They had an unofficial shooting range on the south side where the buildings still stand empty and gutted. No one questions the sound of gun shots down there, but it's still not strictly legal. I never wanted to be with them if they got caught, but after I'd decided on the gun, I asked to go with Joey the next time he went shooting with Finny and Justin.

"Joey was surprised that I wanted to go. Justin was surprised when I showed up with Joey. Finny…well, I think Finny was just surprised it had taken me that long to make my decision. I didn't realize it, then, but hind sight is twenty-twenty. I'm pretty sure he knew what I would do when Justin told his story. Maybe he even knew before that. Who can say?

"I knew it was dangerous with Joey and Finny there. They were witnesses and warm bodies that could try to stop me when I made my move. I swore I would come back as often as it took to get the perfect opportunity. The more I came out to shoot, the more they would trust me, but I didn't have to take it that far. I guess a perverse twist of luck was with me. Justin offered to let me shoot on that first day. He stood next to me as he showed me how to hold the gun, how to turn the safety off, how to aim. I took a practice shot, two. There were fifteen bullets in the clip. I'd used two of them.

"I turned. He was so close. It was like the whole world slowed down. Something in my head screamed at me to stop, that I couldn't do this and then an image popped into my head. My little brother in his tiny, baby-sized casket. He'd looked so peaceful. It all flashed through my head in a moment and I don't think I ever stopped moving.

"I pressed the barrel of that gun between Justin's eyes and pulled the trigger. He looked so shocked as that hole appeared and blood flew from the back of his head. He crumpled and I stood over him. I was screaming, cursing at him. I…I emptied the clip into his body. I didn't want to risk him surviving, like that guy that lived through a railroad spike to his head. It's funny what humans can survive through. I once read about a man shot nine times in front of a firing squad and he survived it, but my baby brother died of a case of whiplash."

Alexis stopped, realizing that she was starting to ramble. She moved over to the couch and sat down, arms still wrapped around her middle. She rocked a little, staring at the old, worn coffee table in front of her couch.

"Justin didn't survive."

A small smile curved her lips, just a touch of pride.

"I think Joey ran when I took the first shot. He certainly wasn't there when Finny eased the gun out of my hands. He acted so careful of me, but the gun was empty. I'd counted. I didn't notice the gloves he wore until later. At the time, he seemed like my lifeline. He helped me get home, promised he'd hide the gun and make sure Joey didn't say anything. It was two months later that he made his first demands. I suppose it took him that long to hide the gun…in a safety deposit box where he could use it to blackmail me."

Alexis sighed, dropping her arms to rest on her knees. She felt tired and wrung out, hollow. And yet…it felt good to tell someone. Finally.

She looked up at the vampire. He gazed back, a strange sort of smile curling his lips, like a child at the end of a bedtime story with a particularly happy ending.

"Well?" She scowled at him, but couldn't keep it up. All the emotion felt torn out of her.

"Only a man may kill a monster…or a woman. You did humanity a great service by ridding it of a monster. Is that what you want to hear?"

Alexis looked away.

"I don't know. Maybe. Yes. I suppose. But I didn't do it for humanity. I did it for me."

Alucard chuckled and rose from his seat. He took two steps to kneel in front of her and tilted his head back to look into her eyes. She blinked down at him, uncertain how to react.

"I knew a woman, once. I watched her destroy men that had served loyally under her because the enemy had turned them to ghouls and set them against us. I watched her order the death of a man that had served her for years and acted as a father figure when her own father died. That man had betrayed her, plotted her destruction and that of her organization, which she loved like family. I carried out that destruction at her behest, but it was her order that set me on the man that became a monster. I have never respected anyone more in all of my many centuries. You remind me of her."

Alexis blinked, stunned. Until that moment, she had wondered if Alucard was even capable of truly caring about anyone, but this… She almost wanted to say he must have loved the woman he spoke of with such reverence. What did it mean that she reminded him of this woman?

At a loss for words, she watched him smile and rise again. He reached out and smoothed a gloved hand down the side of her hair, a gentle caress, and somehow, it was exactly what she needed. A million words couldn't soothe the ache in her heart, but that touch from him loosened the knots that threatened to choke her.

"Tomorrow, we will deliver Finny's money to him, and perhaps we will have a long talk with him."

"But, I don't know where he lives. He and Joey always come to me."

"Then we will search for him. After all, you do owe him."

A wide, feral grin split his face and Alexis found her own lips curving in a matching smile.

**A/N: Lol. Shades of Anne Rice, here. So much dialogue…I hope I handled it well.**

**Just because I have to mention it, the incident that happened in Alexis's school actually happened at my school in my junior year. A group of guys went joyriding up and down the back roads of our town in a truck, throwing barbell weights at passing cars. No one died in the real incident, but one of the weights shattered a windshield and drove the windshield wipers into the chest of the driver. He ended up in the hospital for several weeks and I believe was permanently disabled. The kids were slapped on the wrist, had their licenses revoked until they were eighteen and that was it. I didn't hear anything more about it, and like the two that changed schools in this story, I think they really regretted what happened, but it's just a reminder that not putting enough thought into the consequences of your actions can destroy lives, and not just your own.**


	12. Ch 11: A Sunday Afternoon

**I was going to say something about being at 69 reviews, but I think I need to behave. I can't help that I live in the gutter. No, really. I do. Ask Maroongrad. *nods***

**So, living in the gutter or not, thank you to everyone that has helped me get to that many reviews. This story has become so popular and it makes me uber happy to see everyone's comments. Love you all! :-3**

**Chapter 11: A Sunday Afternoon**

Alexis lounged on the couch, using a finger to keep her place in the paperback she held. Normally, she didn't need to do that, but with reading as dull as this… Had Dracula been this dry the last time she read it?

Scowling, she sighed and let her head fall back against the arm of the couch. She had hoped that reading the novel would keep her distracted while she waited for Alucard to wake for the afternoon. If nothing else, she might learn something more about him…maybe…if her suspicion was right, that the novel wasn't nearly as fictional as she had once thought. And assuming it was truly accurate. The count in the novel just didn't seem to match the vampire sleeping in the coffin next to her bed. Maybe she was mistaken. Or maybe the account was skewed by the viewpoint of the humans that had battled him.

She might be able to draw a better conclusion if it didn't feel like slogging through thick mud to read the thing. Grumbling, she lifted her head and started reading again. Could this really be about him? How much was fiction and how much was fact? She could ask him…but what if she _was_ jumping to conclusions? Oh, how he would laugh at her if she brought it up and turned out to be wrong. Maybe it didn't matter. Did she really need to know?

Gritting her teeth, she set the book down beside her on the couch. She couldn't concentrate on it, not with her mind whirling with contemplation about Alucard, and the thing that truly had her worried, the thing she didn't want to think about at all.

Was that a step in the hall outside her door? Maybe the murmur of voices? Did she hear a siren in the distance? It had been twenty-four hours since Alucard drove Finny and Joey from the apartment. How long would it take Finny to deliver the evidence to the police? Would he do it or had Alucard frightened him enough to keep him from angering the vampire?

She almost wished the police _would_ knock at her door. She wouldn't have to worry about it anymore, then. She'd have an answer.

Action. She needed something to do.

Rising from the couch, she returned the book to her meager shelf and pulled her phone out to hook it into the small speaker set she had picked up at the bargain electronics shop. It had surprisingly good sound for its size and price.

Flipping to a playlist of rock songs, she set the phone on random and a hard, driving drum beat with a haunting, symphonic accompaniment filled the small living room. Swishing her hips as she walked, Alexis headed for the kitchenette and started washing the small collection of dishes that had accumulated. After all, impending arrest did not make her chores go away.

An hour later, her tiny apartment was as sparkling as it could get. The vampire hadn't come out of the coffin yet, but the police hadn't shown up, either. Thus far, it was a normal Sunday…and she had laundry to do. She gave the small basket of dirty clothes a mournful look, but there was no hope for it. She had to assume life went on as normal or she'd get buried under the everyday minutiae while she waited for the big, bad thing to happen.

Shoving her phone, ear buds, money and ID in a pocket, she collected her keys and the basket of clothes. She thought about leaving a note for Alucard, but she hadn't last week. He would probably still be asleep by the time she got back. With a sigh, she headed out the door.

Why did she always do laundry on Sunday, when _everyone else_ did laundry? How many times had she sworn to change her laundry day and still hadn't done so? Alexis sighed, basket of clothes tucked into her hip as she scanned the busy Laundromat, looking for an empty washing machine. Wait. There!

She rushed over to stand behind a woman that had just opened a washer and started pulling damp clothes out into a basket. She smiled as the woman lifted the basket and cleared the way for Alexis to stuff the contents of her basket into the washer. Luckily, she only had one load of clothes to clean.

Setting the basket on top of the washer, she set it to running and headed outside. She was lucky enough to have a Laundromat around the corner from her building and she felt comfortable leaving her clothes there while she did some grocery shopping.

Slipping a hand in her pocket, she confirmed that she had her money and ID and headed down the sidewalk for the bus stop. Wishing she had brought her book, she took a seat on the bus bench and sat back to wait.

The people of London walked the streets, hurrying from place to place. Groups of young people chatted together. Young couples walked by with babies in strollers. All around her, life went on, including her own, even when it felt like the world should pause and hold its breath for a moment. No one on this street knew that her life could come crashing down around her at any moment. She felt like she sat in a little bubble of anonymity that no one would bother to pop…and then she noticed the eyes.

Plenty of people stood, loitering about, but one figure suddenly stood out from the rest. He had long locks of hair so blond it looked white. They hung down in spikes over half his face like a horse's mane. Dark sunglasses that wrapped round his temples hid his eyes from view. He wore a black leather jacket and dark jeans. Nothing about him really set him apart from the people all around. Even his hair wasn't that unusual compared with the spiked looks some people sported, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was watching _her_ behind those dark lenses.

Was he with Finny? She knew that the man had people watch her, but she'd never spotted them before. He just always knew things that he couldn't unless someone had seen it happen and reported back to him. If this guy was with Finny, what was he looking for? the money? Wouldn't he have shown up at the apartment and demanded it? Maybe they were afraid of Alucard. That was certainly understandable.

Alexis bit her lip, trying to decide what to do. She could just ignore him, but what if he was waiting for her to leave the crowded street so he could corner her alone? Without knowing what he wanted, she couldn't decide what to do about him.

She glanced down the street, spotting the tall, red, double-decker bus trundling toward the stop. At the least, she wasn't abandoning crowded environs anytime soon. Witnesses were always a good thing to keep assailants at bay.

Flicking her gaze back across the street, she frowned. He had disappeared. She scanned the crowd, searching for that shock of pale hair and didn't see it. How had he moved so fast?

A cold chill slid down her spine. A human wouldn't move that fast on the crowded street. He could have slipped into a store, but somehow, she didn't think he had. She reached up to grasp the cross Alucard had given her and mentally cursed as her hand came up empty. It was at home, still strung on a broken chain. Fat lot of good it did her, there.

Feeling jumpy, she reached into her pocket to pull out her bus card. A cool breath brushed over the nape of her neck.

"Do not board the bus."

The voice was low and soft, almost conversational, but undeniably issuing a command. Alexis blinked, her muscles frozen. Her mind raced as the bus pulled to a stop and the doors flipped open. People clattered down the steps as a queue began to form for those wanting to board. Should she just get on the bus? What could he do to stop her in the middle of such a crowd?

"Don't."

A prick of pain in her lower back made her jump. It felt like a cat's claws on her flesh, but not digging in. Not yet. With a shiver, she realized he could probably rip her spine out and escape through the crowd before the first drops of blood hit the pavement. It wouldn't matter that they were in the middle of a crowd. He would move too fast for any two witness accounts to match.

She should have left that note for Alucard.

The last of the bus passengers clambered onto the vehicle and the driver gave her a bored look. When a moment passed and she didn't move toward the steps, the woman reached out to pull the door closed and the bus trundled away. For a moment, they were as alone as they would get in the temporarily deserted bus stop.

"Good girl. You may survive this if you keep your wits about you and listen very carefully to everything I say. Now, you're going to walk up the street, like we're friends out for a stroll. You're going to smile and I'm going to keep my hand on your back, right where it is."

Alexis took a deep breath and nodded, forcing a plastic smile to stretch her lips. What else could she do? She didn't believe he was bluffing. If she fought him, she would die.

Turning, she started down the street in the direction he had indicated. The vampire, for what else could he be? pressed the palm of his hand into the small of her back, using that pressure to guide her. She no longer felt the prick of his claws, but she didn't imagine for even a moment that he couldn't bring them to bear in an eye blink.

Alucard paced them on the roof of the building, his wide-brimmed hat keeping his face in blessed shadow. He really needed to get his human on a permanent nocturnal schedule. This traipsing about during the day could grow old, quickly, but after the story she had told him the previous day, he could spare her some consideration. It had been beautiful and delicious at the same time, and it had cemented his decision to claim her. Although, he imagined she wouldn't be properly claimed any more than his Iron Maiden had and a small smile curled the corners of his mouth at the thought of how she'd rail at him if he tried.

But he wouldn't do that. No yet. This one was more fragile than the Iron Maiden, strong but brittle. She needed him in a way that Integra never had and that had…possibilities.

The woman and the creature threatening her made their way down the street and around a corner. No one noticed anything out of the ordinary about them. About the time their fellow pedestrians began to decrease in number, the vampire spoke up.

"You killed James."

"Wasn't me." She popped that out as quickly as she could, lest he act on his accusation before she got a chance to say anything. The vampire chuckled.

"By 'you', I of course mean your master."

"Master?!" Alexis stopped dead in shock and outrage. She didn't even think about the claws so close to her spine.

Above them, Alucard's face split in a wide, manic grin. Oh, yes. She'd be furious if he claimed her as a subject…but perhaps if the roles were reversed? Again, it had possibilities.

"Oh, ho. So, you don't recognize his claim on you. Fascinating. I wonder what he would have to say about that."

Alexis could only assume that he was referring to Alucard, and she certainly did _not_ acknowledge any claim he had on her…not if it involved calling him 'master'. The vampire at her back steered her around another corner and suddenly, they were quite alone between two tall brick buildings with dirt stained windows and rusty metal fire escapes. The creature grasped her shoulder and spun her around, pushing her up against a wall. He leered at her, the sunglasses sliding down his nose to reveal bright scarlet eyes. Somehow, Alexis suspected that this one stood a little higher on the food chain than James had.

"Shall we take a look at your little booboo here?" He grinned, baring fangs as he reached up to remove the bandage that covered the fang marks James had left on her. He cocked his head as he examined them and his grin widened. "So, he managed to get to you after all. I'd recognize that bite anywhere. Who would have thought you'd turn out to be a virgin?"

"Oh, for crying out loud. Not that again." Alexis glared up into his face, wishing she could see his eyes, but he'd lifted his chin so that the glasses hid them again. "I am _not_ a virgin. Do you people ever think of anything else?"

The vampire frowned, reaching up to remove the glasses entirely. Alexis scowled at him.

"Impossible. Unless he botched it. I suppose he didn't actually drink. Just nipped and ran. That sounds like him, although you should have gotten at least a dose of the venom. Maybe he was shooting blanks?"

Alucard stifled the vicious growl that threatened to give his presence away. He very nearly leapt from his rooftop perch when the strange vampire tugged the bandage from his human's throat. Bad enough that another had left the mark of their fangs on her. The fact that she had lived through the attack and retained her humanity puzzled him, no end. They needed information, so he couldn't interfere…yet.

"Whatever. Believe what you want," Alexis growled. "Can we just cut to the chase? I'd love to know why you're kidnapping me."

The blond vampire chuckled.

"My master has taken an interest in you, you might say. James was supposed to turn you into a ghoul or bring you home if you turned out to be fledgling material. Obviously, he can't do that anymore since he's now deceased. We believed you must be turning since master felt him feed…or thought she did. Since you hadn't become a ghoul, we naturally assumed…but you don't appear to be in transition at all." He took a deep breath, close to her hair, and then pulled back and lifted a hand to run it down the side of her face, almost but not quite touching the skin. "You feel and _smell_ very, very human."

"I _am_ very, very human. Since your orders don't include what to do in that circumstance, I guess you'll have to go get new orders and come back later." Alexis didn't really expect the logic to work, and it didn't, but she didn't seem to be able to get a leash on her tongue. Sarcasm was her shield when she didn't know what else to do. She just hoped it didn't get her killed, this time.

"Better yet, I'll just take you to my master as you are. I'm sure she can solve the mystery of your humanity, if, indeed, James did not botch the first attempt."

The vampire grabbed her by the shoulder, pulling her away from the wall to push her down the narrow alley. She managed to bite her tongue on a protest, but she needed to escape and she needed to do it, _now_. Sure, she might arrive wherever his master was fully intact, but she wasn't willing to lay even a penny on her odds after that. Of course, if she tried to run away, now, he would kill her and she'd be dead sooner. Stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place, Alexis rolled her eyes heavenward and prayed for a miracle.

The red-clad vampire opened his mouth in a silent snarl. The pup knew nothing about Alexis's persistent humanity. He'd revealed nothing about his mysterious master. Useless. Utterly useless, and now he dared to lay a hand on Alucard's human. Time to end this.

Alexis turned the corner and the vampire at her back stopped walking. She didn't notice immediately and got a couple of steps ahead of him before she saw the red duster and fedora adorning the man leaning against the wall several feet in front of them. She blinked, and then it registered that someone, or something, had answered her prayer…with a rather ironic solution.

Almost before she could think about it, her legs sent her sprinting toward the figure, feet slamming into the ground to achieve the greatest spurt of speed she could produce. She expected to feel claws in her back at any moment, but nothing came as she zipped around Alucard and pressed herself against the wall on the other side of him.

The black-haired vampire lifted his head, the waning afternoon light glinting off of his glasses. Did he even glance at her? Perhaps not.

Alexis peered around her vampire as he pushed himself away from the wall. The blond vampire hadn't come any closer. Was it possible he'd actually taken a couple of steps back? He watched them warily as Alexis hid behind Alucard.

"She told me that she doesn't acknowledge you as master, but she flies to you when threatened," the blond said, raising his voice to echo down the alley. "So, which is it?"

Alucard tilted his head to look down at Alexis and his lips peeled back from his teeth in a feral grin. He cocked his head to the side as though he was listening for something, or looking sidelong at the other vampire.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," Alucard said.

"My name doesn't matter. Are you or are you not that human's master?"

Alexis looked up at Alucard, wondering how he would answer. After all, just because _she_ didn't acknowledge him as her master didn't mean that he didn't think of her as a sort of minion. What, exactly, would she do about it if he did?

Alucard's grin widened.

"I am not her master, but for you and yours, she belongs to me."

And what was that supposed to mean? The blond vampire scowled at them, once again stymied by an answer he couldn't properly codify. Alexis almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

Alucard reached up and slid the glasses he wore off of his nose. Matching red eyes clashed over the distance between the two unholy creatures.

"You will return to your master and tell her that if she has something she wishes to discuss with me, she will bring it to me, herself. You will be the one and only minion of hers that will be returning alive from an encounter with me and what is mine."

The blond vampire bristled, his chin coming up with an angry, defiant look. Alucard arched an eyebrow, needing no words to intimidate his foe.

"She will destroy you!"

Alexis looked up at Alucard, plastering a bored look on her face.

"Didn't we hear that from James, too?" She looked back at the blond, feeling bold now that she was safe behind Alucard. "Alucard looks pretty intact to me."

The vampire beside her chuckled.

"This one is little more than a mongrel, barking at the end of his leash."

The blond vampire snarled at them, fangs bared. For a moment, Alexis thought he might attack and she looked forward to seeing Alucard rip him to shreds. To her disappointment, he gave them one last glare, turned and fled toward the main street. Alucard watched him go.

"Where is the cross that I gave you?"

His tone made her want to flinch with contrition, but she wasn't a child. Alexis crossed her arms and stepped back to give him a level glare.

"At home, still on the chain that _you_ broke."

He gazed down the alley where their foe had fled, his expression utterly neutral. He hadn't even glanced at her when he asked the question. He blinked and then turned to look at her, a smile curling his lips.

"You might want to get that fixed."

He turned and started walking down the alley, hands stuffed in his pockets. Alexis stared after him, mouth gaping open. She could have sworn he was angry at her. With an exasperated huff, she trotted after him.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have one hell of a personality disorder?"

The vampire just grinned.

**A/N: Poor Alexis. Can't even do laundry in peace. Heehee.**


	13. Ch 12: Dinner's on Finny

**Juggling plots is soooo much fun. This is about the time that I realized what I'd gotten myself into with this story. Lol. Lots of stuff going on, but all fun, and hopefully interesting. Enjoy the new chapter.**

**Chapter 12: Dinner's on Finny**

Her first order of business for the week was to get the damn chain fixed on her cross. She couldn't do it before work on Monday, so she tucked the cross in her pocket and watched her back like a paranoid schizophrenic.

After the incident with the blond vampire, Alexis had not felt up to facing down Finny and his goons, even with Alucard at her back. He hadn't mentioned anything about tracking the hoodlums down; seemingly distracted by the other dilemma they were faced with. Fine by her.

The police never showed up and she finished her grocery shopping and laundry with a pensive vampire in tow. She thought about asking him the questions that had come up while she read Dracula or discussing the blond vampire that had tried to abduct her, but by now, her mind shied away from the whole mess. All she wanted to do was go home, sleep, and try to regain some semblance of normalcy in her life.

For the first time in years, the very mediocrity of going to work Monday morning relaxed her. She sat at her desk, answering the phone and scheduling appointments. Every few minutes, she checked her pocket to make sure she hadn't lost the cross. As soon as work ended, she headed for the closest jewelry store.

"I need to see how much it would cost to repair this chain." She set the cross on the glass cabinet with the chain next to it. The man behind the case picked it up and examined it.

"What kind of metal is it?"

"Err…I don't know."

Frowning at her, he pulled out a loupe and started examining it.

"Looks to be silver. You'll spend more fixing it than just buying a replacement and selling it for scrap."

"Oh." Alexis frowned. Silver? For some reason, she had expected it to be made out of a more expensive metal. "How much is a new chain?"

Nodding, the man moved over to a small case of silver chains and bracelets, pulling out several pieces to show her. She sold the broken chain back to them as he had suggested and managed to walk out with a new necklace and her pocketbook relatively intact.

She donned the cross immediately, casting a nervous eye toward the westering evening sun. Even with the cross about her neck, she would rather be with Alucard. The cross could only drive a vampire away. Her vampire could, and would, destroy them. Funny how she thought of him as 'hers', now. Maybe that stupid passing fancy hadn't actually passed, the way she thought it had. One thing she did know, she felt safe with Alucard, and right now, that was all that mattered.

Hurrying out of the store, Alexis caught the next bus and headed home. She watched from the vehicle's window as the sun sank below the horizon. By the time she clambered down the stairs at her street corner, the western horizon held only the barest remnants of twilight.

Making sure the cross hung outside her shirt, Alexis hurried down the sidewalk toward her building. Entering the front doors, she headed for the stairwell. She passed a woman standing in the elevator well, dressed in thigh high stockings and a skirt short enough to show a strip of skin between the top of the stockings and the bottom of the skirt. Her stop was dark pink velvet and left about seven inches of her midriff bare.

It crossed Alexis's mind that she might want to let the woman know that the elevators required an access card, one she hadn't been willing to pay for, herself, but decided the hussy could figure it out on her own. She opened the door to the stairwell and headed up the five flights of stairs to her apartment. If nothing else, the daily trek kept her trim.

To her surprise, she found Alucard awake and still at home. He had a sheaf of papers on the coffee table in front of him and a laptop open beside them. Where had the computer come from? It certainly wasn't hers, and there hadn't been enough time since sunset for him to go out and buy it, then come back home.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she closed the door behind her and tossed her purse onto the bar that separated the kitchenette from the living area. Alucard glanced up at her and grinned, revealing gleaming white fangs. By now, she'd almost become accustomed to that look.

"Research. Your condition, it triggers an old, old memory. A legend of some sort, but it has been centuries since I heard it. I do not recall the story much, except that it involved a human that could not be turned and could not be ghouled."

"Vampires have legends?"

Why did that seem absurd? After all, the creatures did exist and they were sentient, which created a possibility for communication and an oral history. But…the idea of creatures that were legends in and of themselves having their own legends seemed somehow redundant. Shouldn't they cancel one another out? or was that reverse logic?

Alucard laughed as the confusion danced across her face, a low, threatening sound that raised the hairs on the back of her neck.

"Vampires only rarely interact outside of the master-childe relationship, so legends are rare amongst us, but we do have some. However, it is the Romani who keep our stories."

"The Romani? Gypsies?"

Alucard lifted an eyebrow at her, and he might have gone on, but a knock sounded on the front door.

Alexis's heart leaped into her throat. It was the police. She just knew it. She didn't know what had taken Finny so long to send them, but it must be them.

The knock sounded again and Alexis realized she had been staring at the door in abject fear. Unacceptable. Even if it was the police, the least she could do was face her fate with dignity.

Scowling, she turned and opened the door, expecting to find a pair of dark clad men with an arrest warrant. Instead, she found the scantily clad hussy from downstairs scowling at a paper in her hand. She looked up at Alexis.

"This _is_ apartment 5-G, isn't it?"

"Yes." Alexis didn't bother to point out the '5-G' nailed to her door in brass letters. The hussy scowled at her, reaching up to tuck a strand of long, straight, peroxide blond hair behind her ear.

"I'm looking for a 'Mr. Count'." She looked Alexis up and down. "And I don't do birds."

Alexis blinked, wondering who the hell 'Mr. Count' was, and why this bitch thought she'd want to 'do' her, anyway. Wait. Mr. Count. Alucard had told Finny to call him 'count'.

With a slow smile spreading across her face, Alexis took a step back, pulling the door open for their guest.

"Alucard, it's for you."

The vampire looked up, one eyebrow lifted in inquiry. The hussy…well, knowing Finny, she was probably a tried and true whore…peered through the doorway. Her eyes lit up as they landed on Alucard and raked him from hair to crotch and back again. A sultry smile spread across her face as she sauntered into the room. Alexis had a sudden urge to reach out and yank on that hair. Purely out of curiosity, of course. It might be a wig.

Keeping her urges under control, Alexis pushed the door shut as the woman crossed the room, her hips sashaying as she went. She reached up and pulled a small, sealed envelope out of her cleavage. With a suggestive smile, she bent over so her breasts threatened to spill out of her top and handed the envelope to Alucard. Sadly, that presented Alexis with a view she could have spent the rest of her life without experiencing.

"Mr. Finnegan McElroy sends his regards. He's paid for my services for the entire night." She glanced over her shoulder at Alexis. "You might want to ditch the bird, though. She'll only get in the way."

Alucard grinned, but in such a way that his fangs didn't show. The orange tinted glasses hid his eyes. Alexis frowned. When did he put those on? He didn't have them when she went to answer the door.

"If your services are paid for, then it's _my_ prerogative if I want her to stay."

The whore turned back to Alucard, a seductive pout pursing her deep, red lips. His head tilted down as he opened the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.

The woman straightened up, apparently miffed that he could so completely ignore her charms as to read a letter while she bent over him, cleavage all but shoved in his face. She bit her lip and cast a poisonous look at Alexis.

"Don't look at me like that," Alexis said, lifting her hands in a shrug. "I'm not the one that sells my body to the highest bidder. Not my fault if they decide not to buy."

The whore sniffed.

"As if anyone would pay for what you've got, anyway." Her eyes raked over Alexis's body with a critical disapproving look.

Alucard's chuckle interrupted Alexis before she could put the bitch in her place.

"It seems our friend Finny was kind enough to send dinner over for me." He rose, pulling the glasses from their perch on his nose. "What's your name?"

The whore turned back to him, a wide smile crossing her features. Apparently, she was under the mistaken impression that 'dinner' was a euphemism. She caught sight of his eyes and her smile faltered, but she rallied admirably.

"Nice contacts. My name is Angelique. You can call me Angel." Her voice positively purred, the cat that got the canary.

Alexis wanted to gag. How cliché was that? The woman oozed toward Alucard, somehow moving as though her breasts pulled her forward instead of being propelled by her feet, like any normal person.

Alexis narrowed her eyes as Alucard smiled. His white-gloved hands came up to smooth over Angelique's bare shoulders and down her arms. She swayed toward him and that smile widened, baring fangs that suddenly seemed much longer and sharper than before. The whore didn't seem to notice the impressive dentistry.

He reached around her neck, gathering her hair and pulling it around to drape it over the other shoulder. Alexis realized he had bared the side of the woman's throat that would allow her to see exactly what he was doing. Why did he want her to watch? It seemed like such an intimate act. Was he trying to make her jealous?

Smiling down at the whore, he slid his fingers through the back of her hair, closing his hand in the strands and using that grip to pull her head back and to the side. The line of her throat stretched long and tight, the jump of her pulse visible from across the room.

For her part, Angelique allowed it, staring blankly at the wall above the windows behind Alucard. With a start, Alexis realized he must have put the woman in a trance. When had he done that? How had she missed it? Maybe more importantly, had he ever done it to _her_?

No. Not important after all. Important was the impressive row of pointed, needle-like teeth that he bared, bracketed by two impossibly long fangs. A memory swam to the surface of her mind as he reared back to strike. Something about venom…

"Wait!"

Too late. Alucard struck, teeth sinking deep into the woman's neck. Blood welled up and slid in a line down her skin as the vampire's lips sealed over the wound.

Even in the trance, the woman gasped, back arching in an instinctive reaction to the predator's fangs in her throat. Her hands clenched at her sides, moving as though they might claw at her assailant if she had the control of her body that she would need to do that.

Alexis scowled, wanting to do something about this, but what? Trying to interrupt the vampire was a stupid, suicidal idea. Despite the fiasco with the razor the other day, she really didn't want to die. Did she prefer to be witness to a murder?

Okay, so that was a little hypocritical, considering she'd committed cold blooded murder, herself…and Alucard certainly looked like he was enjoying himself. His arm wrapped around Angelique's back, hand still tangled in her hair, his face buried in her throat. His hair flowed down over her shoulder, falling in loose waves. Was it longer than it had been a moment ago?

His shoulders moved as he swallowed the whore's blood down in great draughts. The woman's hands slowly relaxed, sliding into a boneless droop as he drank. The knees bent and Alexis saw the moment when Alucard took the whore's full weight, her head lolling in the vampire's grip. The skin took on a pale, grayish hue as the blood abandoned her veins, drawn down the gullet of the monster.

Alexis expected to see those dark tendrils appear, to reach out and consume the body, but the black hair, while longer than normal, remained nothing but hair.

After what seemed an eternity, Alucard pulled back, an impossibly long tongue swiping the smears and trickles of blood from his lips and chin. He released the whore's body, letting it crumple to the linoleum floor. Alexis winced at the thump it made as it hit the ground. She found herself mesmerized by the corpse's wide, staring eyes.

"You killed her." Yes, it was stating the obvious, but she didn't know what else to say. Alucard reached up to wipe the last traces of blood from his chin.

"Did you wish her to live?"

Alexis tore her eyes from the corpse on her living room floor to glare at the vampire that had created it. "Not particularly, but I didn't want her to _die_, either. What did she do to deserve death?"

"What did she do to deserve life? She was a whore. As you said, a woman willing to sell her body, that sacred vessel, to the highest bidder."

"What are you? Jack the Ripper?" Alucard grinned and she scowled at him, realizing it might be entirely possible that he was. "Don't answer that. I don't want to know."

"Actually, the Ripper predated my time in England by roughly a decade. He was sloppy. Left far too much evidence."

"And what is that?!" Alexis pointed at the corpse on her floor, quickly turning a pasty shade of gray. It certainly looked like a large piece of evidence to her. Alucard looked down at the body. Did it twitch?

"That is a ghoul. Well, almost a ghoul. She will rise shortly."

Alexis felt her eyes grow wide and the room suddenly seemed far too warm. A ghoul? For all intents and purposes, she was about to have a zombie in her living room. What should she do about it? What _could_ she do about it?

Realizing her thoughts were edging toward hysterical, she grit her teeth and glared at the vampire.

"And what, exactly, were you planning to do with this ghoul? I hope you didn't intend to keep her here. Out of the question."

A wide, manic smile stretched Alucard's face.

"Actually, I had planned to order her to lead us to your lovely friend, Finny. After all, we do owe him money."

Alucard held up the envelope with the payment Finny had forgotten. Alexis blinked.

"Oh."

**A/N: And, honestly what else can you say to that? *grin***


	14. Ch 13: Ghouls and Corpses

**WARNING: This chapter has some very graphic descriptions of disgusting stuff. I highly recommend not reading it while eating anything or if you have a weak stomach. I don't tend to hold back on the details. Consider yourself warned.**

**Chapter 13: Ghouls and Corpses**

The zombie-like ghoul lurched along the streets of London, its scanty clothing hanging on gray, emaciated limbs, the make-up on its face garish as it clashed with the pasty skin tone. A figure strolled behind it, clad in a red duster and wide-brimmed matching fedora. The street lights glinted off of orange tinted sunglasses and a wide smile graced that angular face. A smaller figure followed a few steps behind, slender with long, auburn hair and dressed in sweat pants and a sweater. That one glanced furtively around the street, terrified someone would spot the grotesque figure leading them and sound an alarm.

"Alucard, what are you going to do if someone _sees_ her?"

The vampire glanced over his shoulder and grinned. A dark chuckle rumbled up out of his chest.

"I will convince them they saw nothing."

Alexis gave the creature a droll look. Admittedly, the whole reason they were doing this at two in the morning was so there wouldn't be as many witnesses for their macabre stroll through London, but it didn't really make her feel better. This entire adventure felt surreal. She alternated between expecting to wake up at any moment and lamenting the loss of sleep when she still had to work at eight in the morning. Could she afford to call in? She was certainly going to want to.

"Remind me, again, why I'm going with you at this ungodly hour of the morning."

"I seem to recall that you wouldn't let me go alone," said Alucard, his grin growing wider. "Something about seeing what happens to Finny with your own eyes."

"Oh yeah." She _had_ said that, hadn't she? And it was true. She needed to be there. If Alucard consumed Finny and Joey and she wasn't there to see it, she might spend the rest of her life waiting for Finny to appear and demand back payments she wouldn't have.

Oh, wait. She wouldn't have to worry about that. As soon as Finny's will was executed after his disappearance, she would be spending the rest of her life in a jail cell. This could go wrong in so many ways.

Grumbling, she hurried to catch up and fall into step beside the vampire. Part of her wanted to move close enough for her shoulder to brush his arm. The night was chilly and the lurching, zombie-like creature in front of them sent shivers down her spine. It didn't help that they were headed to confront her worst enemy whose death would land her in jail with a lifetime sentence.

Wait. Maybe she didn't want to lean on the vampire, after all. He didn't seem to care at all that Finny's death or disappearance would mean very bad news for her. She edged away from him, casting a dark look in his direction. He didn't seem to notice. More likely, he just didn't care.

The ghoul seemed to walk forever and Alexis would have suspected it was leading them in circles except that a quick check of the GPS on her phone showed they were traveling in a relatively straight line through southern London. She scowled at the lit screen, biting her tongue on the argument she'd started to prepare to convince Alucard to use some other method to find Finny. Her feet ached from all the walking, but she didn't complain. With her luck, Alucard would just sneer at her weakness and tell her to go home with the rest of the babies.

Why, exactly, did she care what he thought anyway? Best not to examine the answer to that too closely.

"What, exactly, do you plan to do once we get there, anyway?"

Alucard grinned.

"I told you. We're giving Finny his money."

"Yeah. Right."

Stupid question, stupid answer. She almost missed the ghoul's leaning turn toward a tall building with a pawn shop in the bottom floor. Although the small sign in the glass door said 'closed', the neon words above it glowed a cool blue with the 'w' in 'pawn' spazzing out into flickers every couple of seconds. Thank goodness she wasn't epileptic.

The ghoul lifted a hand to tug on the door and to Alexis's surprise, it opened. The store was dark and no one answered the tinkling bell. Being so late, Alexis had assumed that they would have to come back the next day. Finny probably owned the place, but she assumed he wouldn't live here too. Maybe she was wrong.

The ghoul held the door, its head cocked to the side in puzzlement, apparently uncertain how to pass through the door and hold it open at the same time. Alucard moved up behind the creature and with a smirk, he reared back, fingers pressed together in a blade, and plunged his arm through the ghoul's ribcage. The gloved hand came out the other side, streaming with putrid blood and ribbons of rotten flesh. Alexis gagged as the most revolting stench she'd ever smelled washed over her. The ghoul let out a high-pitched, animalistic keen and convulsed, impaled on the vampire's arm. Alucard twisted his hand and yanked it free. The ghoul's body crumbled into a pile of ash, collapsing into a heap of dust that started dispersing immediately with the stiff breeze. Alexis watched the silvery ribbons of ash drift down the sidewalk.

"Well, that was certainly effective."

Alucard gave her a smug grin and pulled the door open, sweeping through into the shadowy shop. Alexis had almost expected him to play the gentleman and make her go first. Maybe he knew she would refuse. She wasn't about to lead the way into this fiasco.

A couple of small lights in the pawn shop provided a dim glow to see by, but the dark overhead lights left the bulk of the store in deep shadow. The red clad vampire swept down the center aisle toward the counter in the back. How did he _see_ in the darkness with those tinted sunglasses on? Alexis followed him and promptly tripped over a cord trailing out into the middle of the walkway.

Cursing, she hopped a couple of steps before recovering her balance. Alucard glanced over his shoulder and a mocking chuckle rolled out of the darkness.

"Not funny," Alexis said with a glare. She wondered if he could smell the embarrassed flush that painted her cheeks. "I've probably given us away, now."

"Doubtful. There's nothing living in this building besides you."

Alexis wasn't sure how she felt about him specifying 'nothing living'. Were they about to stumble on a huge massacre…or a horde of ghouls? Neither sounded particularly appealing.

"Then let's go. If there's nothing living, then Finny's not here to confront anyway. We can come back tomorrow."

"No." Alucard held a hand up to stop her as his nose came up, sniffing the air. "I smell blood. Old blood."

Not good. Not good at all. If anything, that little tidbit of information just made her want to turn around and march right back out of there again more than ever. But…what if the blood Alucard smelled was from Finny's dead body? What if they could locate the key to the lockbox?

"Fine." The capitulation came out more growl than human speech. She gestured toward the back of the store. "Lead on, oh ye of the wondrous olfactory senses."

The vampire turned and cocked his head at her. She scowled back.

"I read a lot. Makes for a wide vocabulary. Don't look at me like that."

With a low cackle, Alucard stalked toward the back of the store and a set of stairs with a sign marked 'employees only'. The vampire yanked on the chain and it broke with a plastic rattle. Not much of a barrier.

He made his way up the stairs, seeming to glide where Alexis trudged with sore feet and weariness. The stairs circled around, turning left and then left again to deposit them in a hallway that ran the length of the upper floor above the store. A strip of light shone from under a door at the far end of the hall, giving the narrow space a dim glow. Alexis shuddered, forcibly reminded of scenes from a few horror movies she had watched. At least the vampire wasn't trying to make her go first.

Alucard glided down the hallway and paused to listen outside the door. If everything was dead, why was he…oh yeah. Ghouls. The vampire reached for the door knob and twisted it, pulling the door open. The smell of rotten meat rolled out of the room, somehow combined with the stench of a ripe sewage leak. Alexis gagged, tears springing to her eyes at the foul reek. Her stomach roiled and tried to expel its meager contents, but she put a hand over her mouth and nose and swallowed it back. _Something_ was dead in there.

Alucard stepped into the room as though he hadn't noticed the stench. How the hell did he smell _blood_ through _that_?

Swallowing back bile, Alexis forced her feet to carry her down the hallway. Her eyes didn't want to look, didn't want to see what that room contained. She looked anyway.

The room held a table and chairs. Three corpses sat in the chairs, a game of poker laid out on the table. Cards littered the floor from dropped hands, blood and thicker things soaking them and the room's carpet. The corpses looked swollen and puffy. Once had a tongue protruding out, eyes open wide, blind with the eyeballs swollen and slightly protruding from the eye sockets. One of them she recognized as Joey. His skin had turned black on the right side of his face, what looked like thick tears trailing from the closed eyelid. Alucard crossed over to him and reached out to touch the swollen, blackened cheek.

The skin split like an overripe tomato, spilling pus and thicker, darker liquids down the corpse's neck. That did it. Alexis whirled, her gorge rising. She stumbled away from the doorway and fell to her knees, retching up bile and what little remained of her dinner. The foul liquid splattered against the baseboards and seeped across the hardwood floor. The smell of vomit joined the reek of death and she heaved again.

How could Joey look like _that_ when she'd seen him alive just two days ago? Well…three, if you counted it as Tuesday morning. Of course, it wasn't like _she_ knew how long it took a corpse to rot. Maybe they all looked like that after a couple of days.

Wiping the back of her hand over her mouth, she sat back on her heels and felt something brush her back. With a small yip of surprise, she looked up to find Alucard standing over her. She flushed with embarrassment at her reaction to the putrid corpses. He probably thought of her as a naïve child, now.

To her surprise, the vampire moved to kneel next to her. He reached under his duster and pulled out a white handkerchief. Flicking it to release it from its folds, he held it out to her. He still wore his glasses, so she couldn't make out most of his expression, but his lips didn't curl into a smile to laugh at her, nor did they dip in a frown of disapproval.

With trembling fingers, Alexis reached out to grasp the thin, white cloth. She used it to wipe her lips, never taking her eyes off of the red-clad vampire.

"Finny is not among the dead."

Alexis glanced down the hall toward the stairs. She could just make out a second door. They'd skipped it, going for the one with the light instead. What kind of horror waited for them beyond that door? Could she handle it? Her stomach rebelled at the thought of finding another scene like the one in the room behind her, but she had to know if Finny was dead in that room, like Joey. Only one way to find out.

Swallowing back her gag reflex, Alexis reached forward to brace herself against the wall to help her stand. Something moved in the darkness, gunmetal gray on black. It flashed toward her hand, faster than her brain could react.

A white gloved hand shot out, catching the thing millimeters from her hand. It writhed and whipped about, fighting the crushing hold the vampire had on its head. Alexis yanked her hand back, everything happening too fast for her poor, mortal mind to keep up with.

Alucard's hand convulsed and the creature in his grasp fell limp. Alexis blinked and realized he held a dark gray snake in his hand. The tail twitched, residual signals from the crushed head racing down the dying nerves.

"What kind of snake is that?"

Alucard cocked his head at the dead reptile, a scowl turning his lips. He opened his mouth to answer and Alexis gasped as a searing pain shot through her hip. She jerked and tried to scramble to her feet, but her right hip gave out under her and she fell against the wall.

Alucard whipped around and grabbed the second snake with fangs sunk into her hip. He deftly unhooked the fags from her flesh and crushed the head.

Intense pain seared through her flesh, making her want to scream and whimper. She reached for her hip but didn't dare to touch it as her nerves screamed with agony.

Alucard pushed her down, tugging at the waistband of her sweat pants. She didn't care that the action bared some areas of skin she didn't intend to show him. The pain of the cloth sliding over the bite eclipsed everything. A short, strangled scream escaped her mouth before she could stop it. She looked down at her hip, expecting to find the flesh torn and gaping, but all she found was a pair of neat, tiny holes. What was it with pain and lack of proportion?

"Do you taste metal?"

"What?" What kind of question was that? Why would she…

"Just answer the question!"

Scowling, Alexis did her best to block out the pain and ran her tongue around her mouth.

"It's like I have a mouthful of coins." She'd never tasted anything quite like it. How had he known?

"We have time."

He slid his arms under her, lifting her as though she weighed no more than a feather. She cried out as the movement sent a new wave of pain searing from her hip. The taste of metal grew stronger as Alucard turned to race down the stairs and out the front door.

"Where are you taking me?" Did her words sound slurred? She knew she hadn't been drinking.

"The hospital. I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Mmkay."

Suddenly, she felt sleepy. It seemed so hard to take a full breath and she felt so tired. Her heart jumped into overdrive as she realized something was very, very wrong, but that darkness she'd experienced when James bit her stole over her and she passed out in Alucard's arms as he raced through the London night.

**A/N: Umm…cliffhanger? *sheepish smile* I couldn't help myself. The kobolds made me do it…with their candles. *furtive look* *Flees from kobolds as they chase me shouting 'No take candle!'***

**Sorry. Bit of randomness there. Oh, who am I kidding? I totally do random all the time and I have no shame. I need one of those shirts that says: 'I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.' **

**I do need to apologize to all of the people that have left reviews for the last chapter. I have not responded to ANY of them and I promise it's not personal. I've had a lot going on in the last couple of weeks including finding out I get to have surgery this month. It's not a major surgery, but it's my first time in the hospital since being born, so I'm a bit nervous. I've never had general anesthesia before. This should be interesting. I promise that A Chance Encounter will continue. I am good up through chapter 21 at the moment. :) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter in all its gory disgustingness and I'm going to get on responding to those reviews, even if it's a little late. *smile***


	15. Ch 14: Emergency Room

**I just want to say thank you to everyone and their well wishes on the surgery next week. It makes me feel good to know so many people care. Enjoy the next chapter.**

**Chapter 14: Emergency Room**

Screaming pain brought her out of the darkness. A pair of hands gripped the ankle of her bitten leg, forcing it to bend at the knee and hip. The hands pressed down, pushing her knee toward her chest and she screamed as the movement forced her hip to bend and agony swept through her.

"Sounds like she's awake."

Alexis blinked her eyes open as the pain ebbed from sheer agony to an excruciating ache. A man stood over her, brownish blue eyes set in a tanned face with a mop of short blond hair gracing the top of his head. He wore blue scrubs and a matching blue mask hung about his neck. The hands gripping her ankles and calf belonged to him and he pulled back, sending another screaming pain shooting through her.

Her back arched and she writhed, desperately wanting to escape the vicious burning that radiated from that spot on her hip.

"Oh, god! What are you doing?!"

"We have to get you moving. The antivenom takes time to work and the further this stuff spreads, the better."

"What?! Are you insane?"

The doctor chuckled as he forced her leg to bend again. Alexis scrabbled at the hospital bed, biting back another scream.

"You were bitten by a puff adder. They're not native to England. Must have escaped from someone's private collection. You're lucky I was here tonight. I'm about the only doctor in this hospital that knows much about snakes that aren't native to England."

"And _why_ are you torturing me?!"

The man shook his head and pulled her leg straight again. She grit her teeth against a scream as tears flooded her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

"The venom of the puff adder is cytotoxic. It dissolves flesh. If we can get it to spread a little, while we're getting the antivenom into you, then you'll have less damage over a greater area as opposed to massive damage in a smaller area. It can make the difference between full recovery and loss of limb function."

He bent her leg again and her fingers sank into the sheets of the hospital bed, turning white at the knuckles.

"Can I at least get some painkillers? Morphine?"

"We _are_ giving you morphine." He nodded at the IV stand beside the bed with a clear tube looping down into a flexible needle in her arm. She hadn't even noticed it with all the attention she'd put into her burning hip.

"Are you sure? It doesn't feel like it." That last part came out through gritted teeth as he straightened the leg again. This time, as the agony flashed through her body, her stomach seemed to flop over with it. Sweat broke out on her forehead and she felt a familiar stinging in the back of her throat.

"I think I'm going to…"

The doctor must have read the look on her face. He was already snatching up a blue plastic bag with a stiffened ring at the mouth. He brought it to her face as she heaved and once again emptied her stomach. There couldn't be much in there since she'd hurled up the remnants of her dinner back at the pawn shop. A thin stream of yellowish green liquid dribbled over her lips into the bag. It tasted vile and she heaved again, but nothing came up.

The doctor reached for a cup of water on a bedside table and helped her wash the taste out. She didn't swallow any, afraid she'd just bring it back up again. The man tossed the bag and pulled another one from a dispenser on the wall. He handed it to her.

"I hate to put it this way, but we're just getting started."

Alexis groaned and collapsed back against the raised upper portion of the bed. She felt light headed and woozy. She clutched the plastic bag to her chest as she licked her lips and took a moment to concentrate on breathing. Why couldn't she get a full breath? And why was that god awful metallic taste lingering in the back of her throat? She swallowed, trying to wash it down.

Wasn't there something else she should be concerned about besides the pain? A wave of dizziness washed over her. The doctor had left the room. When did he leave? She didn't remember him leaving. Shouldn't she have noticed? What about the snake that had bitten her? Snake? Snake!

Where was Alucard? Had he brought her here? Water. So thirsty.

Alexis pushed herself up and pain spiked through her hip again. She gasped but the thirst overrode the pain. She reached for the cup on the bedside table and brought it to her lips. One gulp. Two. It probably wasn't anything but common tap water, but it tasted like the sweetest, purest spring water she'd ever tasted. She drained the cup and sat back against the bed. More. She wanted more.

Her eyes drifted closed as she tried to puzzle out how to get more water and the darkness swallowed her again.

Alexis came to her senses, wondering if she should be worried about the speed of the beeps coming from the machine behind her. A woman stood over her, brow creased as she worked to attach a bag full of clear liquid to the IV tube that snaked down to the bend of Alexis's elbow. The nurse reached out to hang the bag on the IV stand and took down a depleted bag, collapsed in on itself with wrinkles full of clear liquid running through it. Alexis blinked and it was like the movement woke her nerves up, allowing the deep ache and burning in her hip to penetrate to her brain. An involuntary whimper escaped her lips and the nurse looked down at her.

"Awake, are we? How do you feel?"

"Pain. I feel pain."

The woman chuckled and lifted her arm to check her watch.

"I think we can manage another dose of morphine. How do you feel besides the pain? Dizziness? Nausea?"

Alexis frowned, concentrating on pushing the pain aside as she felt for the rest of her body.

"Nothing…pressing. Just pain."

The woman nodded and moved to a small computer monitor situated on a counter that ran the length of the right hand wall. Alexis reached down to move the blanket off her right hip. She wasn't sure she _wanted_ to see the extent of the damage, but she felt like she needed to look.

The entire outside of her hip looked blown up like a balloon with dark bruising and several spots where blackish red blisters had risen up, a couple of them easily four centimeters or more wide. She felt her gorge rise at the grotesquely swollen flesh and quickly flipped the blanket back over it. It looked too much like the side of Joey's face that had split and poured noxious filth over his rotting flesh. She needed to get her mind off of that visual.

"Where's Alucard?"

The nurse turned and cocked her head to the side. "Who, dear?"

Had he just dropped her off outside the door? Or maybe it was just that _this_ nurse didn't know who he was. He might have brought her and then left.

"What time is it?"

"Just after noon."

Well, that explained it. He'd be at home, tucked into his coffin. But…she'd seen him out and about during the day… And why did she expect him to stay in the hospital with her, anyway?

Gritting her teeth, Alexis pushed away a sudden feeling of abandonment and betrayal. She had no right to feel that way. The vampire had only lived with her for a little over a week. They'd barely had time to establish the beginnings of a friendship, much less the kind of relationship that would allow her to make demands on his time and emotions. Somehow, she couldn't see him responding well to such demands anyway. Anything she got in that department would have to be given freely, if she ever got anything at all.

"Is there someone you need us to contact for you?"

Alexis looked up at the nurse. She'd almost forgotten the woman was there.

"No. It's alright. If he shows up, he shows up. I'm not going to worry about it until then."

The nurse gave her a pitying look but didn't argue. Instead, she straightened the blankets and showed Alexis how to use the call button if she needed it. With one last check to make sure her patient was as comfortable as possible under the circumstances, she left the room.

They moved her out of ICU into a normal hospital room late in the afternoon. She talked to her doctor and he informed her how lucky she was to have gotten to the hospital so quickly and with the dead snake so they could identify the right antivenom immediately.

No one had any idea who Alucard was. She wondered why she kept asking. As dusk fell, she slept again. She couldn't remember being so chronically tired in her entire life.

When she woke again, the lights had been turned out, probably by the veritable bevy of nurses that came in to check her vitals on a regular basis. A dim light filtered in from the direction of the door. She couldn't see whether it was a night light or if the door was open a crack. Did it matter? She turned her head toward the window and it took a moment for her brain to register the pair of glowing red eyes watching her from the corner.

"Alucard!" She winced at the breathy excitement in her voice. Did she want him to know how happy his presence made her? Probably not. She'd just get that condescending smirk she'd seen him give the women that fawned all over him and it would piss her off.

A soft rustle came from the shadows and those glowing red eyes rose as he stood.

"Finny appears to be missing, his compatriots dead to the same venom that put you here." He crossed the room, the glow from the door picking out his fine features in sharp relief. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes traced the lines of silky black hair falling haphazardly across his face. That hair always seemed like a wild creature with its own sentience, writhing about his features with a sensuous elegance.

A slow smile spread across his face and she looked away. He'd caught her staring. Damn it. Had he read her feelings in her expression? Double damn. Of course he had. How many centuries had he spent studying and analyzing humans…his prey? Say something!

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know yet."

Her hip started aching again. The morphine that had finally started working must be starting to wear off. She reached for the nurse call button but a gloved hand stopped her. She glared up at him.

"The pain is coming back."

"A moment. I don't know for certain who has done this, but I can think of only one reasonable possibility. If I'm right, you are in very grave danger so long as you associate with me." His head turned, angled toward the window as though he couldn't look at her anymore. Her heart rate picked up. What was he suggesting? Was he saying good bye?

She tried to ignore the sudden pain in her heart that had nothing to do with snake venom. She had no right to that pain…did she?

"You can't leave. I don't have another job yet." There. Logic. She was allowed to use logic. "And you told Finny I was under your protection. Damn it, protect me!"

Alucard turned back to her, his face angled so the dim light form the door illuminated his features, one eyebrow lifted and a small smile curving his lips. He cocked his head to the side, crimson eyes searching her face.

"Is that an order?"

Was it? Did she have the right to order him about? Her thoughts drifted back to that first night. Fuzzy though the memories were, she remembered him calling her 'master', almost like a question. Later, he'd asked her to command him when they'd held James pinned between them. He'd spoken of a woman he respected, one that Alexis had reminded him of with a strong, commanding presence. The answer popped out of her mouth almost before her brain finished forming the conclusion she'd come to.

"Yes. I order you to protect me. You will not leave my side unless it becomes absolutely necessary."

The vampire blinked at her and she wondered if she'd overstepped her bounds, but she couldn't back down, now. She held eye contact with him, even as the pain in her hip grew. To her surprise, his smile suddenly grew into a grin. He took a step back and, crossing an arm over his chest, he bowed, low and graceful.

"As you command, countess."

Countess? What did that mean? And yet, she thought she knew. He'd been born European nobility and apparently taken the title of 'count' as a vampire. By calling her countess, he acknowledged her as an equal. Or so she hoped. She reached for the nurse call button.

By the time the nurse arrived, the vampire sat slouched in a chair beside her bed, orange tinted glasses and wide-brimmed hat hiding his glowing eyes.

**A/N: I will say this much…I know more about venomous snakes after researching for this chapter and the last one than I thought I'd EVER need to know. I've also learned that antivenom is insanely expensive. May I never be bitten by a snake.**

**I do find it funny, though, that I have characters landing in the hospital all the time (mostly in my original work) and I really haven't a clue what goes on there, besides what is seen on T.V., and everyone knows Hollywood often glamorizes everything. Like I said, I've been in a hospital to be born, and that's it. I guess I better take notes when I get my surgery next week. Heh. What I really need is a hospital nurse as a friend whose brain I can pick on occasion. Heh. Maybe I can find one of those next week too. Lol.**


	16. Ch 15: Fever Dream

**Chapter 15: Fever Dream**

Alexis drifted in and out of awareness. Sweat soaked her forehead and she could feel the hospital sheets sliding over her sensitive skin as though they were made out of sandpaper. She thought she slept but she couldn't have said how much or what memories belonged to consciousness and which ones belonged to dreams. Sometimes, she felt surrounded by people, a hundred different nurses' faces hovering over her, overlapping as they changed her sheets, bathed her body, took her vitals and changed the bags of liquid dripping into her veins. Sometimes, she felt utterly alone and she cried out for Alucard who was supposed to be there. Sometimes, his face appeared, with or without the hat and glasses. Sometimes, it didn't and she wondered if she would die alone. What was dream and what was reality?

Alexis found herself sitting in an old pub booth, a tall, cool mug of lager in front of her. Alucard sat on the other side of the table, a wine glass in front of him filled with a dark red liquid.

"Blood?" It didn't seem unusual to her if the glass did contain blood. He was a vampire, after all. He looked at her and grinned, crimson eyes glowing. What had happened to his hat and glasses? Shouldn't he have those on in public, where people might see his glowing eyes and become concerned? She blinked and her worries drifted away like smoke on a breeze.

"Of course not. You haven't opened a vein for me." Oh yeah. It _had_ been a while. How long? Too long. She owed him blood. That was part of their deal, right? Then why couldn't she lift an arm to offer it? Her body felt heavy, her limbs unresponsive. She hadn't felt this way a moment ago, had she? What should she do? Bluff. She plastered a mischievous smile on her face and cocked her head at him.

"Come and get it."

Alucard's smile spread into a fang-baring grin. This time, she didn't even worry about the people that might notice.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" he said and she felt her heart sink, knowing he was calling her bluff. She scowled at him and ordered her arm to lift, to reach across the table, for _something_ other than just her head to move.

If anything, she felt heavier and more paralyzed than before. She could feel the fear spreading across her face. She really shouldn't let him see that expression. He was a predator. Showing fear was a bad thing, right? But he was her friend. He had to be her friend. What else did she have?

"I…I can't."

The grin melted off his face and she knew he'd misunderstood. His eyes narrowed and he bared his fangs at her again, but there was no mirth in that expression.

"You will. You will beg me to sink fangs into your flesh before it is all over. You _need_ me, little girl."

"Don't call me that!" Alexis bristled, angry at his condescension and the smug certainty his expression exuded. She didn't want to admit it, but she could already feel what he was talking about. A vague yearning pulsed through her, a _need_ to feel the prick of his fangs on her flesh, the sensation of his lips sealing over the wound and drawing the blood from her veins. In a sudden rush of realization, she knew she wanted it the way a recovering alcoholic wants one last drink or a smoker trying to quit craves one last cigarette. It consumed her, making her desperate to offer her wrist, her throat, anything he could sink teeth into and still she couldn't move.

"You'd best think hard and long about this. You will die without me." With that last, cryptic remark, the vampire rose. Suddenly, he wore his hat and glasses again, the orange lenses giving his features a cold, distant appearance. Those sensuous lips showed neither smile nor scowl as he turned and headed for the door.

"No! Wait!"

He ignored her, pushing through the pub's door. Somehow, she knew if she didn't catch him, now, she'd never see him again and she _would_ most certainly die.

With a supreme act of will, she forced her body to lurch out of the pub seat. She fell toward the floor, unable to catch herself with her uncooperative arms and she jerked awake as her shoulder would have hit the unforgiving concrete.

Alexis blinked, her brain caught in the confusion of vivid dream versus dimly lit hospital room. For a moment, she had no idea where she was and already, the details of the dream were beginning to fade. What didn't fade was that vague, aching need to feel Alucard's fangs sunk into her neck. What the hell?

Groaning, she rolled her head to the side and spotted the red duster and fedora that told her Alucard hadn't abandoned his post. The brim of the hat tilted up and his glowing eyes peered at her over the rim of his glasses.

"Vivid dreams?"

She scowled at him. The Alucard of her dream had seemed different from the vampire she knew, and yet not. Had her mind created the dream all on its own or…?

"Did you…?"

Alucard grinned and she expected him to smugly admit he had placed the dream in her head, but he shook his head.

"I have no control over your dreams. Whatever you dreamed, it belongs to you, alone." He gave her a knowing smirk and she felt the blush rise in her cheeks. It hadn't been a terribly embarrassing dream, but he _had_ starred in it. She _so_ wasn't going to tell him that. His ego already strained the boundaries of London's city limits. It did not need encouragement.

The vampire rose from his seat and reached for the nurse call button hanging from the railing of her bed.

"What are you doing?"

"They need to know that you are awake and coherent." He pressed the button and reached out to lay a gloved hand against her forehead. "I think your fever has finally broken."

"Finally?" Alexis scowled as a queasy feeling turned her stomach. What did that mean? The door to her room opened, spilling a line of light across the foot of her bed. Alucard stepped back, his expression blank as he made room for the nurse.

The woman smiled, the expression deepening the crow's feet that were beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. Her dark skin spoke of too much time in the sun, but she looked Alexis over with genuine happiness.

"Finally awake, eh?" She had a kind, lilting voice and Alexis felt a touch of her anxiety drain away.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Oh, off and on since the fever started." The woman picked up a device from a stand at the head of the bed. Alexis craned her neck to see what it was as the nurse…Janice, according to her name tag, smoothed something cool through the sweat on her brow. Janice pulled the thermometer away and looked at the display. Her smile widened.

"Thirty-seven point three (99.1 F)," she said. "You've been running between a thirty-eight and thirty-nine point four since early Wednesday morning. (101-103 F)"

"What is today?" Alexis asked the question hesitantly, not certain she really wanted the answer. Janice frowned, a touch of pity crossing her features. She placed a gentle hand on Alexis's arm.

"Sunday, dear. It's Sunday evening. You were touch and go for a little while there."

"What?" Alexis ran the math in her head. Five days. She'd been out of it for _five days_. She'd missed a whole week of work. How could she just _lose_ five days?

Nurse Janice gave her a sympathetic look and patted her arm.

"I know it's a shock, dear, but it looks like you're going to pull through."

Well, that was nice, but what about that week of missed work? Did she even have a job anymore?

"What happened?"

"Well, your doctor can explain in better detail, but essentially, you developed an infection. It's not uncommon with snake bites. Between the venom and the antivenom, your immune system is already overtaxed. Any type of infection added to that can put you in a very life threatening situation."

Alexis glanced past the nurse to where Alucard stood, leaning against the wall, head tilted down and arms crossed. Five days. Had he left her side in that time? He had to feed…and didn't he need his native earth to sleep? The coffin, too?

"Thank-you," Alexis said, glancing back up at the nurse. Janice smiled.

"It's what we do, dear." She patted Alexis's arm and turned to pull another item from the rack at the head of the bed. A blood pressure cuff.

Alucard watched from his position against the wall as the nurse took Alexis's vitals, frowning at the reading from the blood pressure cuff, but everything else seemed to be fine.

"Try to get some more rest, dear," Janice said with a smile. "Your doctor will be in to see you in the morning."

"Thanks."

Janice left and it occurred to Alexis that the woman hadn't once glanced at the vampire in the corner. Did she even know he was there? She hadn't thought about it before, but shouldn't he be banned from her room outside of visiting hours? Not that she was complaining. His presence in the room made her feel safe.

"Have you fed?" With the dream fresh in her mind, it was the first question she thought of. That white, manic smile flashed out of the shadows.

"I have."

"How many nurses have come down with a sudden case of anemia?"

The vampire chuckled as he pushed himself off the wall and crossed the room to sit in the chair beside the bed. He lounged in it as though it were a throne and he king of all he saw.

"One or two," he said with a mischievous smile. Alexis felt a sudden pang of jealousy at the thought of him sucking on a strange woman's throat. Scowling, she squelched the thought. It was a stupid thing to be jealous over. Even if she had a claim on him, she couldn't produce enough blood to feed him all by herself. One way or another, he had to feed on other people and she couldn't blame him for preferring a female throat for such an intimate act.

Okay, that line of thought didn't help.

"I hope I get out of here soon. I can't afford to miss anymore work…if I even have a job still."

Alexis quickly learned that, outside of life threatening situations, hospitals were boring. After waking up Sunday night, she soon fell asleep again, but she woke easily enough the next morning when her doctor visited.

Her fever hadn't returned, but her blood pressure was elevated. That concerned the staff and they started her on IV treatments, although how adding more liquid to her veins was supposed to reduce the pressure in them didn't quite add up to her.

Her doctor checked the bite. The worst of the bruising had faded and she found that, while it was weak, she could bend the joint under her own power. It hurt abominably, but she could do it. Her doctor grinned and told her how lucky she was to have retained full use of the limb. They would be keeping her for a couple more days, in case the infection returned. Alexis sighed, mourning the additional lost days. She didn't have much paid time off at work and had probably used it all up last week. But, doctor's orders prevailed. She would just have to juggle her funds and hope for the best. After the doctor left, she learned a whole new definition for boredom.

Alucard dozed in the corner, unresponsive to nurses and doctors coming and going. How much sleep had he lost? Would he be able to wake up if the bad guys showed up? Best not to worry about that. She would cross that bridge if she came to it.

She tried watching T.V. but in the middle of the day, she couldn't find anything worth watching. There were some magazines on the bedside table, but none of them were on a subject that interested her. She settled back against the bed, wishing she at least had a book to read. Even sleep eluded her.

She whiled the day away, watching the sunlight work its way across the room. Somehow, Alucard had managed to position himself in such a way that the direct sunlight never touched him. That, more than anything, told her that he had been there, just as she had ordered, for the five days she'd been out cold…or hot, as the case might be. She smiled over at his still form. He might be egotistical, creepy and fully capable of cold blooded murder without batting an eye, but she couldn't question his loyalty.

He woke when night fell and she seriously considered asking him to bring her a book from home, but what if the bad guys showed up while he was gone? She certainly wasn't in any shape to fight them off and she didn't want to see any of the hospital personnel die because of her. Instead, she tried striking up a conversation.

"So…are you _the_ Dracula?" The question had been nagging at her since he'd told Finny to call him 'count'. That wicked smile flashed at her out of the darkness.

"I have been known by that name." He seemed proud of the fact, but what little she remembered from the novel and what she had re-read of it did not paint a very flattering picture of Count Dracula. Even with his ego and maniacal amorality, he seemed a nobler creature than that displayed in the book.

"You don't seem much like the count."

Alucard laughed, the rich tones of his dark chortle now become familiar enough to soothe her nerves rather than grating on them.

"That's because half of the novel was created by Stoker to spice up the events described in the journal he got his hands on. The _single_ journal he got his hands on. That, and Jonathan Harker was an idiot."

"And obviously, you didn't die at the end of the adventure."

The vampire grinned.

"Obviously."

A knock sounded at the door to her hospital room. Alexis glanced over, expecting to see a nurse coming in to check her vitals again. Her heart skipped a beat when a dark-clad police man came through the door.

"Alexis Montreve?"

Alexis swallowed hard, her eyes wide. With everything going on, Joey dead, the snake bite and the infection, she'd forgotten about the police for the first time in eight years. Alucard rose from his seat next to the bed.

"Why do you ask?" Alexis's eyes flicked to the vampire as he asked that question in a mocking, derisive tone. She hadn't expected him to step forward to deal with the police if they showed up.

The officer scowled at the vampire as he reached behind him to pull a pair of handcuffs from his belt. The machine monitoring Alexis's heartbeat jumped into overdrive.

"Please do not interfere, sir. This is a police matter. Alexis Montreve, I am placing you under arrest for the murder of one Justin Patzer."

Alexis felt faint. Whether Finny was dead, missing or had just decided to turn the evidence over to the police, it had finally happened. The very thing she had feared most for eight years had come to pass.

Alucard reached up and slid the orange tinted glasses off his nose.

"I don't think that will be necessary," he said. The officer scowled at him.

"Who do you…err…uh…" The man's eyes glazed over as he locked gazes with the vampire. Alucard grinned. He held the officer's gaze as he crossed the room to tower over the man.

"Officer Bailey, you have the wrong person. The prints on the gun were inconclusive. You will return to the station, put the evidence in storage and mark the case as cold and unresolved."

"I will…what?" The man frowned, his face scrunched up like a child presented with a particularly complicated math problem. He opened his mouth, closed it and then blinked. The perplexed expression seemed to melt off of his features and his eyes never moved away from Alucard's face. "Oh, yes. Of course. So sorry to disturb you, madam. Please, get well soon."

The man never actually looked at Alexis even though his words were directed at her. He straightened out of his dazed slump, doffed his hat in her general direction and turned to leave. Alexis's jaw dropped as he pulled the door mostly closed behind him.

"That's it? That's all you had to do?"

Alucard turned to grin at her.

"There may be a couple more visits before the suggestion sticks well enough to get the case closed, but yes. It is as easy as that."

"You…you always intended to do that, didn't you?"

"You didn't honestly think I would allow your _human_ police to take you away to jail, did you? You are mine."

Alexis snarled at him, reaching behind her to snatch up the pillow and lob it at him. All that worry, all that anxious pacing…for _nothing_! He'd had a plan all along!

"You! You insufferable, arrogant, infuriating _prig_! How could you let me worry like that?!"

Alucard's grin grew with every insult until he threw his head back in wild, riotus laughter. This incited Alexis to throw the cup and pitcher of water on her bedside table at him. It also summoned a bevy of nurses that had to be mesmerized into believing nothing had happened. Alexis settled back on the bed as they moved to checking her vitals at Alucard's suggestion and tutting over the numbers on the machine that recorded her pulse.

Alexis glared at the vampire as she submitted to the nurses' administrations. If only the water in the pitcher had been blessed. Maybe she could see if the hospital chaplain might do her a favor tomorrow while Alucard slept.

**A/N: Heehee…Alucard likes watching Alexis stew and fret. Lol. He's so bad. But, then, she should have known he wouldn't let something like human police take her away. That's what she gets for underestimating him. *wink***

**She'd best thank her lucky stars that he didn't just kill the guy. Unfortunately, poor Alucard needs to keep a low profile, so he can't, exactly, indulge in his normal killing sprees to solve his problems. Plus, he doesn't have Hellsing backed by the government to cover up his little ****tête-à-tête****s anymore. *grin***


	17. Ch 16: New Accommodations

**Chapter 16: New Accommodations**

Alexis dreamed again. This time, Alucard pursued her, but it wasn't _her_ Alucard. This creature shared his face, his hair, his clothes, but those crimson eyes didn't recognize her. They saw only prey as she fled from them.

Somewhere in her dreaming awareness, she knew she had to find _her_ Alucard. She needed those fangs in her flesh, but the creature behind her would destroy her as surely as the inexplicable need raging through her. His crazed eyes haunted her, those terrible fangs bared to consume her utterly, and then she realized he _was_ her Alucard. This terrible, snarling beast somehow contained the creature that had saved her life several times over. She knew she had to take her chances with him, so she turned and with tears in her eyes, waited for him to capture her.

Those gloved hands closed on her shoulders and slammed her up against an invisible wall. She gasped as that face she'd come to care about snarled at her with base, animalistic anger. She lifted her arms, bringing her hands up to cup his face as she searched those wild, empty eyes.

"Alucard?"

Nothing. No recognition, no self awareness, just hunger. With one last snarl, he lunged for her throat.

Alexis woke with a jerk, a chilling sense of déjà vu washing over her as a knock came from the door to her room. Her heart jumped into her throat as a dark clad man walked into the room. Had the police come back? Would Alucard be able to wake up enough to do something about them? Would he even care? Wait. That was the dream Alucard that wouldn't care.

It took her a moment to realize that the dark clothing the man wore was a double breasted suit of charcoal gray with a matching tie. He had receding salt and pepper hair and a smile on his age lined face.

"Mr. Alucard?"

Alexis frowned at the vampire snoozing in the corner. Who would be visiting him in her hospital room?

She thought he wouldn't respond, but after a moment, the red hat moved and he lifted his head, red eyes muted in the daylight that flooded the room.

"Mr. Allen." Alucard nodded and the man's smile grew wider.

"Everything is in order. The house and grounds had not received any offers that the agency could accept. The restrictions in the will were rather limiting. Frankly, the real estate agency was happy to get it off their books. A structural inspection has been completed and some repairs need to be done since it's stood empty for so long. That assessment is included with the paperwork, here. You'll want to have an additional inspection done once the utilities are activated, of course. The back taxes have been satisfied and you can move in at any time."

The man lifted a briefcase and crossed the room to set it on the window seat. He flipped the lid open and pulled out a dark brown folder thick with papers. He laid it on the window seat as though he knew Alucard wouldn't take it from his hand. To that, he added a ring full of keys.

"I've taken the liberty of including a list of reputable repair technicians, staffing agencies and moving companies in your paperwork."

"That sounds sufficient, Mr. Allen."

The man smiled and produced one last piece of paper from the briefcase.

"If I could please get your signature of receipt, Mr. Alucard?" He laid the paper on top of the folder and added a pen. Alucard leaned forward to take the pen in hand and scrawl an untidy signature across the line the man indicated. He dated it and set the pen down, quickly pulling his gloved hand out of the direct sunlight.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Alucard. Faulkner, Allen and Associates appreciates your business." Mr. Allen closed the briefcase and rose. He didn't offer to shake hands with the vampire, nor did he seem to expect a response to his statement. He directed a polite nod at Alexis and headed out the door.

Alexis frowned at the folder, her stomach feeling queasy with nerves.

"You bought a house?" Why did he need a house? Had he decided he didn't like living with her?

"No. I simply removed it from the market. I've owned this house since my master left it to me after she passed away."

"Oh." So he did intend to move out. Alexis narrowed her eyes at the vampire. "Exactly how do you intend to protect me when you're living in this other house?"

A part of her winced at the demanding tone in her voice. She wouldn't put up with that from someone else. Why should she expect him to? But, she didn't take it back. She'd finally caught on that he expected demands and orders from her, even wanted them. Too weird, but she could do it if that's what he wanted. Alucard grinned.

"It's not so difficult since you will be there with me."

Alexis blinked at him. He hadn't even discussed this with her. What if she didn't want to move? Okay, so her apartment wasn't exactly a palace, and they'd been tripping over each other since he moved in, but it was _hers_. She paid for it with her own, hard earned money. Money that might not exactly be forthcoming after this hospital stay. Damn it!

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I told you, before. I'm not your whore and I'm not your mistress."

"No, but you are mine to protect, by your own command." The smile faded from his face and Alexis shivered. She had become so accustomed to that maniacal grin that he looked strange to her without it. "Your apartment is as defensible as a cardboard box. If I am to have any chance of following your order, I need you in a place that you will be safe when I cannot be at your side."

Alexis looked down at her lap, chewing on her bottom lip. On the one hand, she didn't _want_ to leave her apartment that she had worked so hard to stay in. On the other hand, he had a point. It wasn't very defensible. She'd been attacked there twice since he'd entered her life…and the place he owned was a house. She'd missed living in a house since her mother sold theirs and moved them into an apartment for the last couple of years before Alexis moved out on her own.

She missed being able to turn the music up as loud as she wanted and being able to scream at the top of her lungs if she wanted. She missed having an actual kitchen to cook in and a backyard. Oh, a _backyard_!

She cut a narrow look at the vampire. Why did it feel like she was selling her soul to the devil if she agreed to this? Okay, maybe that was a stupid question.

"I suppose I can take a look at it. A little more room would be nice. I assume I'd have my own bedroom again?"

Alucard chuckled, lips peeling back in a wide, highly amused grin.

"I think that can be arranged."

-ssSSss-

Alexis stared up at the front of the most imposing house she'd ever laid eyes on. Her mouth hung open as she gaped up at the intimidating façade. Three stories. Who the hell needed a house with three stories?

"What, exactly, are we supposed to do with all of _that_?"

Alucard stepped up beside the shocked human, grinning like a loon as he looked up at his old home.

"I suspect our first order of business will be to clean it."

Alexis looked down at her feet, bracketed by a pair of crutches that helped keep her balanced as she kept her weight on her good leg. She could put some weight on the bitten leg and had even been told to do so as much as possible to help the muscles recover, but it hurt and the limb was incredibly weak. She was not looking forward to exercising it back to full strength.

"I am in no condition to clean all of that! I wouldn't want to tackle it if I _was_ in good condition! It's huge."

The vampire laughed as he pulled the ring of keys from a fold of his duster and mounted the front steps. Alexis felt a small smile tug at the corners of her lips as she lurched after him. He seemed so happy, like a kid going to an amusement park. An incredibly creepy kid, but a happy and excited one. Alucard pulled a key off of the ring and held it out to her.

"Would you like to do the honors?"

Alexis lifted an eyebrow at him. Was this more of that subservient behavior that confused her so much or did he have some nefarious purpose in making her go first?

"You better not have a horde of ghouls stashed away in there." She took the key and clutched it between her teeth so she could hold onto the crutches and swing herself across the porch to the massive front doors. The relatively modern lock looked positively diminutive in the massive oak behemoths. Weren't locks supposed to match the size of the door they secured?

Shrugging off the asinine question, she inserted the key and turned it. The door swung open under her touch, creaking and groaning as it went, but not giving nearly the amount of resistance she expected from such a massive slab of wood.

Weak afternoon sunlight filtered into a massive foyer, motes of dust stirred up by the moving door catching the light like specks of glitter in the air.

The center of the foyer held a table with a massive silk floral display, now faded and furry with dust. A gorgeous chandelier hung above it, the intricate drapes of crystals dull with spider webs and dirt.

"When was the last time anyone cleaned this place? It's a mess!"

Alucard stepped through the doorway, craning his head back to examine the chandelier.

"Decades. This house has stood empty for decades."

Something about the timbre of his voice made her give the place a second look. Beneath the dust, grime and neglect, she could tell that the furnishings, the lighting fixtures, the walls and floors had been laid with the highest quality materials and a shadow of their previous splendor still showed under the shroud of time.

Alexis planted the rubber tips on the bottom of her crutches in the layer of dust and grime that coated the marble floor. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had just stepped into an ancient king's tomb. Swinging herself over the threshold, she stirred up a cloud of dust and she sneezed, the sudden sound echoing through the cavernous house. She'd wanted more room but this was ridiculous.

"Seriously, Alucard. I haven't the first clue how to take care of a place this size. I'm not sure anyone can, on their own. Maybe if we kept most of the rooms closed up." She craned her head back to examine the distant ceiling, dim in the late afternoon shadows.

"Then our first order of business must be the hiring of a competent butler, and _then_ cleaning."

Alexis snorted as her eyes dropped back down to the vampire that had moved further into the room. His eyes glowed in the shadowy depths of the huge space as he turned to look at her. It crossed her mind that the foyer probably had more square footage than her entire apartment.

"Unfortunately, we're not going to find anyone tonight." She leaned into the crutches, hobbling her way toward the vampire and stirring up dust as she went. "Possibly not even in the next week. Where do we sleep until then? Is the kitchen in working order? Is the electricity turned on? the water?"

Alucard's grin faded into a scowl. Damn all of these things that she needed. He could just fetch his coffin home and he would be fine. He _wanted_ to be home. After more than four decades, it finally felt like home again, but she had a point. Several of them, in fact.

Alexis frowned as the vampire's face fell. She felt like she'd just told a room full of children that Santa wasn't real. This place, this _move_ was important to him, and she suspected it wasn't just her safety at stake.

With a huff, she tossed the key on the table with the dusty flowers and gripped the handles of the crutches. She gave him her best imperious look.

"I hope you know where they stored the candles. _You_ may not need light, but _I_ do."

-ssSSss-

Alexis sat curled in a chair that almost swallowed her, swathed in three layers of blankets and munching on Chinese delivery as she watched Alucard. He was assembling a massive oak bed that he had hauled down from one of the upstairs bedrooms. The mattress and box spring had been encased in plastic and had held up relatively well for being over forty years old.

It seemed strange watching the arrogant vampire tackle something so mundane as assembling a bed, even if he did punctuate it with impressive feats of strength, like hauling the solid oak headboard around like it was made out of cardboard. The light of over twenty flickering candles gave the huge stone room a warm glow, even though they left the furthest corners in shadow. She still wasn't sure why he insisted that she sleep in the basement, but she wasn't going to argue since he'd fetched the chair, candles, candelabra, Chinese delivery, and now a bed down all of those stairs.

She hadn't gotten to see much of the house but what little she had glimpsed left her burning with curiosity. The basement, alone, seemed to be a warren of twisting corridors and closed doors. She could swear she'd also seen another set of stairs that led _down_. Perhaps a subbasement? If so, that would make the house _five_ stories, assuming there wasn't a substantial attic above the third floor.

"So…umm…I hadn't thought of this before, but…how are we supposed to _pay_ a butler? or cleaning staff? or _taxes_? I can only imagine what the taxes on this place are like." Alexis took another bite of Chinese as she mulled over the problem. Alucard knocked one of the cross braces into place using only the flat of his palm.

"That is taken care of. The inheritance that came to me with this house will more than take care of any costs its maintenance incurs."

Alexis munched on noodles as she watched Alucard finish assembling the frame. Just how much money was he talking about? He was a vampire. All he needed was his coffin and blood. She still hadn't figured out where his clothes came from. She could only assume that he conjured them from thin air. What did he know about the cost of things? An image of the check he'd given her came to mind. Okay. Maybe he did know.

The vampire rose from his crouch and fetched the box spring from where it leaned against the wall. Ripping the plastic off, he dropped it into place on the frame and followed it up with the mattress. To Alexis's shock, he retrieved a set of bedding from the shadows by the door and started making the bed.

"Somehow, I never pictured you as the domestic type."

Alucard shot her a stark grin.

"One learns many skills in almost seven centuries. No one suspects a lowly servant of being the great evil that they fear. A servant is beneath notice."

"Huh. I guess it's true, then. The best place to hide is right out in the open."

The vampire folded the sheet and comforter down and turned to her.

"Precisely."

Alexis set the rest of the food aside and shifted around, the dull ache in her hip becoming uncomfortable. She pulled out her phone and winced at the amount of battery she had left. She wouldn't be able to charge it until they got the electricity turned on, but she would need it to call the utility companies in the morning.

Deciding it had been long enough since her last pain pill, she reached for her purse and pulled the bottle out. Alucard crossed the room to stand over her as she popped the pill in her mouth and washed it down with a swig of water.

"I need to leave for the night."

Alexis frowned up at the vampire. Was he asking her permission?

"I must feed and I must bring my coffin here. This room is secure. You should be safe while I'm gone."

"Sure." Alexis smiled up at him, wondering how long it had been since he'd fed. "Just do me a favor. If you kill anyone tonight, make it someone who really deserves it."

Alucard grinned and bowed. He rose and headed for the door, closing it behind him. It fell shut with a loud, metallic clang. Glancing at the bed, Alexis cursed. She should have told him to bring her some clean clothes. Oh well. It could wait.

Reaching for her crutches, Alexis pulled one over and hauled herself to her feet. She blew out the candles in the candelabra until only one solitary flame fought back the stygian darkness. Holding it in her free hand, she hobbled across the room on one crutch to climb into the bed. She stripped her shoes and socks off and slid her feet under the sheet and blankets.

Blowing out the candle, she burrowed under the covers. Sleep claimed her quickly as the pain pill worked into her system. She fell straight into dreams of fangs, blood and a certain red-clad vampire.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, everyone. I meant to post a chapter last Monday, but I was still recovering from the surgery and sort of slept through most of the day after leaving work early. Heh. It's been a roller coaster couple of weeks. I'm hoping things settle down in the coming weeks. **

**I do have one more chapter for Formative Years before it's officially on hiatus, but it really needs a rewrite, so I plan to rewrite it and then really work on finishing Chance Encounter. Thank you guys for your patience.**


	18. Ch 17: Settling In

**Chapter 17: Settling In**

It was locked. A heavy iron bar that she didn't have a hope of lifting rested in a pair of brackets across the door. Infuriating vampire! Alexis seriously considered kicking it, but besides doing no good, it would probably make her hip hurt more. She had woken up to radiating pain and a growling stomach, but she couldn't take her pain pill without food and she couldn't get food trapped in this room. She wasn't about to eat the leftover Chinese when it had been sitting out all night.

It didn't help that she hadn't slept well. Uneasy dreams had haunted her, making her wake up in a confused fog several times during the night. Well, she thought she had woken up. It was hard to remember and the total darkness of the basement room didn't provide a good contrast between sleeping and waking.

Turning away from the door, she used the single candle she had lit to hobble toward the chair and the candelabra around it. Lighting the candles, she stuck her single one in an empty socket. Retrieving her second crutch, she turned to examine the room.

There. She could just barely make out the coffin in the far corner, almost completely hidden by shadows. It was only a little after noon, but Alucard would have to get up anyway. Besides letting her out and helping her get food, they needed to get the utilities turned on and _he_ had the money to do that.

Swinging herself across the room on the crutches, she stood over the coffin and bit her lip. Although she'd opened the coffin once while he slept, she'd later recognized how foolhardy that action had been. He also didn't want her touching his coffin. How was she supposed to wake him up? She doubted a little knock would do it.

No hope for it. She'd have to open the coffin and risk his wrath.

Hissing with the pain of the movement, Alexis lowered herself to her good knee beside the coffin, using one crutch to keep her steady. Falling on her bitten hip seemed like a very bad idea. She braced herself against the side of the coffin and hooked her fingers under the edge of the lid. It seemed heavier than before as she wriggled her fingertips between it and the wall of the coffin.

Grunting and cursing under her breath, she managed to get the lid off-kilter from the bulk of the coffin and she pushed it off to the side to clatter to the stone floor. In the dim light from the candles, all she could make out was the tip of a pale nose.

"Alucard! Wake up!"

No response. Not that she had expected one from voice alone. Growling under her breath, she reached into the coffin and found a handful of cravat. Closing her fist in it as well as a handful of the shirt beneath, she pressed down on his chest and _shook_.

The vampire came up out of the coffin with a roar, red eyes open and glowing like hellfire. Alexis yelped and fell back against the floor, Alucard suddenly on top of her with fangs bared and glistening in the dim candlelight. He darted toward her throat and to her utter shock, she felt a thrill of need and anticipated relief, not the abject fear that she expected.

Alucard shifted as he struck toward her neck, the movement jostling her hip and she cried out at the flare of pain that washed through her. The vampire froze, fangs dimpling her flesh but not piercing the skin yet. Her heart raced, a heady cocktail of pain, fear and eager anticipation making her breath come fast and faster.

He pulled back from her throat, those crimson eyes glowing at her through the strands of his unruly ebony hair. An ache that she had no explanation for flashed through her chest at the knowledge that he had stopped himself. He wouldn't bite her after all.

"You fool! I've told you to leave my coffin alone. I could _kill_ you!"

Should she tell him how much she _wanted_ him to sink fangs into her? Maybe not after he'd called her a fool for almost getting herself bitten. She clenched her teeth and pressed against his chest, glaring up at him.

"I am hungry, I hurt, I can't take a pain pill without food and I can't get food while I'm _stuck down here_!" Even laid out flat on her back with the vampire straddling her legs, she managed to radiate anger and irritation. The restless sleep and incessant pain left her in a less than pleasant mood. "Help me up and let me out. And I'm going to need access to these funds you claim to have so I can get the utilities turned on. I need to charge my phone."

Alucard's snarl melted into a perplexed look as she berated him. It grew into a grin with her demand for the money to get the utilities turned on. He levered himself back onto his heels and cocked his head to the side, still grinning. Alexis propped herself up on an elbow and glared at him until he offered her a gloved hand. She grabbed for it and braced her good leg as he pulled her to her feet. He fetched her crutches as she gingerly eased a fraction of her weight onto her injured leg. Bad idea. That hurt, a lot. The pain pill had definitely worn off.

Alucard held the crutches out to her and she snatched them from him with a gimlet glare. He was suddenly acting rather considerate, but she wasn't sure she was ready to forgive him, yet.

Easing her weight onto the crutches, she swung herself after him as he crossed the room. He swept the iron bar from its brackets as though it weighed no more than a feather and the door swung open. Alexis started to maneuver herself through the opening, but the vampire stopped her, insisting on going first. He searched the hallway and Alexis scowled at him.

"You said this place was more secure than my apartment. What are you looking for?"

"Snakes." He grinned at her and she shivered. "No place is completely secure from a True vampire, especially one that has crossed their century mark."

Alexis narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why do I get the feeling that your statement would make a lot more sense if I knew what you know?"

"Because it would?"

Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. Obviously, he had no intention of enlightening her.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. Now, move. I need a bathroom, too."

She didn't care that she sounded grumpy. Pain did that to her. Unfortunately, she quickly realized that crutches and stairs did not mix, especially on the going up part. Her full bladder protested with every lurching step. The vampire followed closely behind her and she thought about ordering him to carry her to the closest bathroom, but her ornery pride wouldn't allow it.

Instead, she put her head down and made her torturous way up those damn stairs. It was probably just as well that Alucard had insisted they come here instead of her apartment. Five flights of stairs sounded like hell at the moment.

Finding a bathroom took a little searching and as soon as she stepped into the dark room, she remembered that the electricity wasn't the only utility that she needed to have turned on. Oh well. She'd make do.

Bladder satisfied, Alexis exited the bathroom to find Alucard missing. With the way he dogged her footsteps up the stairs, that surprised her. She frowned and cocked her head, identifying the sound of a voice somewhere in the distance. She turned and headed in that direction, soon rounding a corner to find an open door and a small office on the other side. The dust sat thick on the floor and furniture here as well, but the desk had been cleared and a large, open briefcase sat there. The folder that Mr. Allen had given to Alucard lay next to it with a credit card on top. The vampire sat behind the desk, a cell phone she'd never seen in hand and a Bluetooth in his ear.

"That will need to be today, as soon as possible. Yes, the additional charge is fine."

He looked up as she came through the door and smiled, reaching out to end the phone call. "You should get your electricity and water by the end of the day."

He gestured across the desk to where he'd laid out the menu that had come with the Chinese, yesterday…and her wallet?

Alexis hobbled across the room and snatched the object up. The contents seemed to be intact but she still gave the vampire a gimlet glare. The last she'd known, it was in her purse.

"Why do you have this?"

Alucard's grin never faltered.

"I needed your data. The house and utilities are in your name. _I_ don't exist." He picked up the credit card and leaned over to drop it in front of her. She blinked, shocked to find her name on a credit card she'd never seen.

"But Mr. Allen called you by name. You exist to him."

"Mr. Allen is a third generation inheritor of the firm that has managed the assets of my previous masters for near on two centuries. Out of necessity, the senior partners of Faulkner, Allen and Associates are aware of my nature and the curious circumstances that may arise around the funds and assets that they manage. The other agencies and businesses we will deal with do not need to know who or what I am."

Alexis chewed on her bottom lip, turning the information over in her head. The house was in her name. The utilities were in her name. She had a credit card with access to an unknown amount of money in her name.

"Aren't you afraid I'll spend all your money? I could max out that credit card, sell this house…"

Alucard quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Do you intend to purchase a small country? It would take that to deplete the funds, and you are welcome to try to sell the house. I wish you luck finding anyone able to purchase it. It may be in your name, but there are certain…requirements that must be met for it to sell. In forty years, the real estate company that managed it couldn't find anyone willing or able to meet those requirements."

Alexis blinked. What kind of requirements would keep the house from selling? He didn't seem to have had any trouble getting it back from the real estate company. And what amount of funds would require the purchase of a small country to put a dent in them? Her stomach growled, twisting and cramping in protest of its empty state. The answer to her questions suddenly didn't seem so important as she put a hand over her rumbling middle.

"Right. No worries, there." She put the wallet back on the desk and picked up the menu. Food first…and pain pill. Then, they could work on the rest of the arrangements to make this place habitable.

While she waited for the food to arrive, Alexis located a sheaf of paper and a pencil in the office. There were pens, but none of them seemed to work anymore.

She started lists of things that needed to be done, people they needed to contact and started to sort them by priority. Frowning at the paper, she asked Alucard what kind of monthly budget she had to work with. The number he quoted left her gaping for several minutes.

"I filed half that amount on my income taxes last year. Are you sure that's for a month?"

Alucard just grinned.

"That's the monthly interest and dividends generated by the investments that the firm manages. More can be made available, if it is necessary."

It boggled her mind. She stared down at the paper in front of her, blinking. She couldn't ever remember a time that she didn't have to juggle funds in order to do anything more than survive. A loud boom echoed through the font foyer from the knocker on the front doors. Alexis mentally shook herself and looked up.

"That would be the Chinese."

She started to reach for her crutches and Alucard rose to his feet. He swept through the door without saying a word, but a moment later, she heard the echo of the front door opening.

Smiling, she leaned back in the chair. He'd probably never admit to it, but the vampire had his sweet moments.

He returned with the food and set it on her side of the desk. In turn, he picked up the paper she'd scribbled all over and took it with him to settle down behind the desk.

"I need to make a run to the apartment." She winced at the thought of all those stairs as she pulled out an egg roll and bit the end off. "I need clean clothes, toiletries. A couple of books would be nice." She took another bite of the egg roll, and deciding that was enough to start with, she pulled out her bottle of painkillers and popped one. Alucard chuckled.

"_You_ are going to fall asleep as soon as that medicine takes effect. I will see about fetching some items from the apartment for you. Within the week, we will hire a moving company to bring everything here."

Alexis opened her container of beef and broccoli and took a bite.

"So, what about my apartment? I have seven months left on my lease. I don't want to wreck my rental history."

Alucard cocked his head to the side.

"Does your rental history matter so much, now?"

"I don't know. Does it?" Alexis took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. "We haven't exactly discussed how permanent this arrangement is. As you pointed out, earlier, the investments that will fund this place aren't mine. They're yours. I can't say I'm terribly fond of the idea of getting used to all of this and then having you yank it out from under me."

Alucard leaned back in his chair, an amused and approving expression on his face.

"I think this will be a more permanent arrangement than you realize, but your concerns are valid. You can do whatever is needful. The funds are there for you to use as you need."

Alexis nodded as she munched, still a little distrustful of her sudden good fortune. Things like this just didn't _happen_ to normal people. As they said, if it seemed too good to be true, it probably was.

Sighing, she reached for her phone. It had less than half a charge, but she had to face the music.

Dialing the number for her job, she cringed as the phone rang. They weren't horrible to her there, but she was the only one that performed her particular role. If she didn't show up, there was no one to cover for her except her direct supervisor, and then he couldn't complete his duties. Being that she had essentially dropped off the face of the Earth for a week, she didn't have much hope for her job.

The phone picked up.

They sympathized with her predicament. They extended their condolences. They understood why she hadn't called in.

They had already filled her position and didn't have anything open for her.

"Wow. That was fast." She set the phone down on the desk and stared at it. Of course, she hadn't thought about it, before, but she realized no one had called to ask where she was or if she was okay while she was in the hospital. Had they already had someone lined up, just waiting for her to quit or get herself fired? Suddenly, she felt very, very alone in the world…and tired. So tired.

Alucard watched her with an unreadable expression. No doubt he'd heard both sides of the conversation. For all intents and purposes, she was at his mercy. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Her eyelids started to droop and she realized the painkiller must be starting to kick in. The ache in her hip was fading and she wanted to sleep…just sleep.

As her eyes drifted shut, she heard the rustling of Alucard rising from his seat. Arms like cushioned stone slid under her knees and shoulders, lifting her to rest against the vampire's chest. She let her head loll to the side, cushioned by his shoulder. Why did she feel so relaxed in his arms? Not for one moment did she think he was anything less than the most efficient predator on the planet, and yet…she trusted him. Was she a fool for that? Perhaps, but right at that moment, she couldn't bring herself to care.

**A/N: Just a notation…I did leave out specific dollar amounts in regards to how much the monthly budget that Alucard quoted to Alexis is. I mostly did that because I don't know what kind of inflation rate might apply between now and roughly 70 years from now, and even if I sat down to calculate it, the dollar amount wouldn't really convey a proper concept of the amount available to her. A number means nothing until it is compared to what can be purchased with it. To put it in a number perspective, at today's income rates, if they were in America, Alucard would have quoted a monthly budget of roughly $70,000. That is a base operating budget. Technically, she could access much, much more if she needed to. :)**


	19. Ch 18: Desperation

**Chapter 18: Desperation**

Alexis crawled along the ground beside a ravine, or was it a canyon? The ground dropped away in a sheer cliff less than a foot from her hands and knees. Gravity dragged at her limbs and she wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep, but she had to keep looking. There must be a bridge or a zip line, maybe a grappling hook, some way to cross the vast gulf that separated her from the red-eyed vampire on the other side.

He paced her, hungry eyes watching her every move. His mouth gaped open like a man in the desert, panting with thirst. She should be frightened and fleeing from him, but somewhere deep in her soul, she wanted, _needed_ to quench that thirst for him. Those long, tapered fangs glistened in the sunlight. Sunlight? Vampires and sunlight didn't mix.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, darkness dropped over the landscape and those red eyes glowed. There was a bridge of land spanning the chasm only a couple of feet away. She didn't question that it hadn't been there, before. Alexis pushed herself to her feet, stumbling as she fought to propel herself toward the vampire.

Alucard caught her, his arms wrapping around her like steel bars and the hem of his red duster brushed her legs. His lips pulled back in a triumphant leer as one hand reached up to collect a fistful of her hair, using it to tilt her head back and to the side. It didn't hurt. In fact, she didn't feel a damn thing except a thrill of anticipation that finally, _finally_, he would sink fang into her. She brought her arms up, digging her fingers into the back of his red duster as he reared back, that row of needle sharp dentistry bared in a vicious, threatening display. Tension sang through his arms and he struck, fangs sinking into her throat.

The breath whooshed out of her lungs as his lips sealed around the wound, drawing hard on the punctures. Her eyes fell closed as relief flooded through her and her arms tightened, clinging to him. There was no pain, no fear, just the strength of his arms holding her up as he fed and fed and fed.

-ssSSss-

Alexis came awake with a gasp, eyes wide and staring into a darkness so complete that for a moment she wondered if her eyelids had really opened at all. Her body ached from head to toe. Had the fever come back? But her hip didn't hurt that badly. That didn't make sense.

Her heart was beating out a frantic rhythm in her chest and she felt light headed. Her mind flashed back to her dream and she knew that what should have been a nightmare wasn't. She wanted…no, _needed_ to feel fangs in her throat. She craved the sensation of lips closing over that wound, the feel of her blood drawn into the monster's greedy maw. She yearned for it with a near physical ache. What the hell was wrong with her?

Rolling over, she distantly realized she was in a bed. Alucard must have brought her down to the basement. Where was he? She had to find him, get to him.

Pushing the blankets off as though they threatened to smother her, she scrambled out of bed. Without thinking about it, she put weight on her injured leg and agony flared out from the muscle of her hip as it tried to hold her up and failed. She collapsed to the cold stone floor, crying out with pain. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as desperation tightened her chest.

"Alucard!" She screamed his name into the darkness, not even certain he was in the same building with her. She tried to remember where the door was, but the only information she could dredge from her muddled mind was pain and that incessant, desperate _need_. Her heart thudded in her chest and anxiety formed a knot in her throat. What if she died here, all alone in the darkness? In that moment, it felt like she might die, that her heart might burst out of her chest and pour her lifeblood out on the cold, stone floor.

No. She couldn't let that happen. Grimacing with the pain, she pushed herself up onto her hands and good knee. A memory of that cursed dream flashed through her head as she slowly, torturously dragged herself across the floor. She could only hope she was headed in the right direction.

A sliver of light appeared in the darkness. It exploded across her vision as a door swung open, spilling blinding white light into the pitch black room. Alexis cried out and put up a hand to protect her dilated eyes from the sudden onslaught.

A shadow crossed the light and it shrank as the door swung closed again until only a sliver leaked into the room. Alexis blinked and looked up, finding a pair of glowing red eyes moving toward her. The need and desperation struck her again, tightening an excruciating knot in her chest as she stared up into the eyes of the beast.

"You called my name."

Shouldn't there be ridicule in that voice? She expected him to laugh at her desperation, sneer at her weakness. Not that it would have mattered. She couldn't do a damn thing about it, anyway. He did nothing of the sort as he crossed the room and knelt beside her.

"Please." Her voice came out barely above a whisper. She reached for him, catching a fistful of his duster. Swallowing past a throat gone dry with anxiety, she tried again. "Please drink my blood. I need…I need to feel your fangs in my throat. Please."

Some sane, rational part of her mind screamed at her to shut up, that she had to be mad to make such a request. Maybe she _was_ mad.

So be it. If she was mad, she was mad.

A gloved hand reached out to touch her forehead. She whimpered as it penetrated the fog in her brain that he thought she was fevered again. What if he decided she wasn't in her right mind? He'd never grant her request. She tightened the hand that gripped his duster and pulled herself up on her good hip.

"Please."

Arms slipped under her shoulders and knees as he lifted her. She gritted her teeth against the pain in her hip as he strode toward the bed and laid her down on the mussed blankets.

"Don't go! Please listen to me!" She grabbed for his duster with her free hand, trying to convey with the strength of her grip that she wasn't fevered or delusional. Never mind that she could very well be either of those things.

The mattress at her side dipped as he placed a knee on it, looming over her. Light from the crack in the door illuminated the grin that stretched across his face, reflecting off of his fangs, bared by the expression. The sight made her heart jump in her chest with hope.

Alucard reached into his duster, pulling out the needle sharp instrument that he used to pierce flesh when he chose not to kill. Her heart sank again. She needed his _fangs_ in her flesh. That thing wouldn't work at all.

Alexis released his duster with one hand and wrapped it around his wrist.

"Not that. Please don't. Fangs. I need to feel your fangs in my throat."

The red glow of those eyes flared.

"You will die."

"I didn't when James bit me. Please! I can't explain it, but it has to be this way. _Please_!"

He paused, tense silence filling the air between them. The red glow vanished for a moment as his eyes closed. The grin melted from his face and his brow creased with a small frown. Those eyes opened again and the wrist under her hand moved, returning the piercing instrument to the folds of his duster. Her heart leapt with hope. He was listening to her!

He drew closer, looming over her. One gloved hand pressed into the mattress on the other side of her, pinning her beneath him. Her rational mind screamed at her to flee, but the thought of doing so tightened the knot of anxiety in her chest. She _had_ to have this. She licked her lips and locked gazes with those crimson eyes. She lifted her chin, baring her throat for him as she tugged him down with the hand still tangled in his duster. Her fingers ached from holding on so tight.

Alucard dipped his head toward her throat, cool breath raising goose flesh on her skin. He paused and she feared he was reconsidering. Her mind raced. She must convince him. Wait. She could command him!

"Order. It's an order, Alucard. Feed from me. Sink your fangs into my throat and drink my blood. I _demand_ it!"

His breath came out in a hiss and he dropped down to lick a line up the side of her throat, tracing the great, pulsing vein just under the skin. She shivered as his cool breath brushed over the shell of her ear.

"If you become a ghoul, I will destroy you."

"I've heard that, before."

He struck, fangs sinking deep into her flesh. Pain raced down her nerves, searing through her on the tail of a wave of adrenaline. She gasped and her back arched, the hand gripping his duster tightening until she wondered why the cloth didn't rip. Damn, she'd forgotten how much this hurt.

An arm snaked under her back, pulling her up to press her against his chest as he sucked on her throat, taking in a mouthful of blood. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and her lips peeled back from her teeth in a grimace. It hadn't felt like this in the dream. It hadn't _hurt_ in the dream, and just as she thought she might scream, the pain vanished, eclipsed by a euphoria that swept through her like the thrill of the first hill on a roller coaster. She felt like she was falling, or floating, and the sudden absence of pain left her momentarily confused. She sucked in a deep, shuddering breath and a faint moan escaped her lips as her eyes fluttered shut.

This hadn't happened the last time she'd been bitten and she couldn't explain why it was happening, now. All she knew was that she'd needed this. The ache that had built in her body for the last few days vanished and she felt tense muscles relax as he fed at her throat. Even the pain in her hip faded into the background as his lips moved on her skin and he drank her blood down in great draughts. Would he drink so much that he killed her? Did she care? Maybe not. She hadn't realized how much of her pain and befuddlement had nothing to do with the snake bite until it vanished.

Releasing the death grip she had on his duster, Alexis wrapped her arms around his sides, reaching up his back to run her fingers through the silky strands of his hair. It was a liberty she wouldn't have attempted at any other time, but he didn't make any sounds of protest as his jaw gripped her throat and he fed.

After what seemed like an eternity, he released her, lowering her back to the bed. Her arms slid down his sides to drop to the bed and her head rolled bonelessly to the side. She could feel that familiar paralysis creeping through her limbs. She had something to say. She had to get it out before the darkness swallowed her.

"Th…thank-you. Just…just don't kill me unless you know I'm already dead."

Hadn't she said those ridiculous words once before? It seemed like she had… Her brow furrowed, trying to remember, but the darkness descended, stealing her away into oblivion.

-ssSSss-

Alexis knew she had to be dreaming again. She lay, curled on the bed with a body wrapped around her, molded against her back. A red-sleeved, white-gloved arm curved over her side and across her stomach, holding her pressed to Alucard's chest. She moved and his cool lips touched her neck, gently kissing the point where his fangs had sunk into her neck. Yes. Definitely a dream. The touch didn't hurt. Never mind that she couldn't imagine Alucard holding her like this.

Her eyes opened and Alexis frowned. Hadn't her eyes just _been_ open? Damn vivid dreams. She could feel that she was alone in the bed although her imagination still felt the ghost of that body curled around hers. For a moment, she mourned the loss. Stupid yearning, but not something she could just turn off. She rolled over and blinked.

Red eyes glowed in the stygian darkness, brighter than she'd ever seen them. They seemed to drill into her, intense and fierce.

"Alucard?"

"Your blood tastes different."

Alexis frowned. Should it always taste the same?"

"What? Not to your liking? Too much garlic?"

"Oh, it is very much to my liking, but it has changed in a way that should not be possible. You have been bitten a second time and still are not a ghoul or fledgling. Once could be a fluke. Twice…"

He let the sentence drop, a myriad of possible implications hanging between them. She tried to be concerned, but she just couldn't make herself worry about it. She hadn't felt this relaxed and…_good_ since the snake bite. She smiled and lifted her arms above her head, arching in a full body stretch. Her hip twinged, but otherwise didn't protest.

The red glow from Alucard's eyes flickered as his gaze shifted, traveling down her body and back again. She blinked at him, wishing she could see his face.

"What time is it?"

"Just after eight."

Damn. She'd pretty much lost the whole day.

"I feel like I've been sleeping forever." Alexis relaxed out of the stretch and sat up, swinging her legs around to dangle over the side of the bed. Her hip set up a light ache, a sort of warning that too much movement would end badly. So, still not completely healed. "Did I see light in the hallway?"

"Yes. The water and electricity are on. There are some repairs that need to be done. I have already contacted the correct repairmen. The plumber will be here tonight."

"That bad, huh?'

"It has been over four decades since the water or electricity have been turned on."

"Yeah. I suppose it's inevitable. I hope the repairs aren't too extensive. I'd hate for them to rip this place apart. Do we have water running in any bathrooms? Preferably one with a shower?"

Alucard chuckled and those glowing eyes rose from whatever he'd been sitting on. He moved across the room and light spilled across the floor as he pulled the door open. Alexis winced and held a hand up to block the light from her sensitive eyes. She squinted and waited for her pupils to adjust.

The vampire stood in the doorway, his shadow stretching across the floor. Alexis glanced down to find her crutches leaning against the wall by the bed. Smiling, she reached for them and slid out of bed.

-ssSSss-

The water in the bathroom had to flow for several minutes before it ran clear. Alexis used that time to collect soap, shampoo and conditioner, as well as clean clothes and a towel from the things Alucard had fetched from the apartment.

The bathroom was just as dusty and grimy as everything else in the house. With a sigh, Alexis swiped off a corner of the counter with the flat of her hand and set her towel and clothes there. At least it wasn't anything worse than dust and cob webs. A little water and an army of brooms should take care of most of the mess.

Thirty minutes later, she hobbled out of the bathroom on her crutches, hair damp and body clean. She'd had to put her shoes back on to protect her feet from the dusty floor. Maybe some house shoes would come in handy.

She found Alucard in the front foyer with a man wearing heavy-duty slacks and a green button down shirt. A patch on his left breast pocket read 'Peck'. The dazed look in his eyes told her that the vampire had mesmerized him for some reason.

"Can he do his job like that?"

"He will. He just won't remember all of it."

"And how is he going to explain the payment we're going to be giving him?"

"He'll remember enough."

Alexis sighed.

"I really don't think that's necessary, but I'll trust your judgment. Just don't fry his brain."

She watched the vampire head toward the back of the house with the dazed plumber in tow. She leaned on her crutches and let her eyes wander up the balustrade of the grand front stairs to the balcony lining the second floor. Smiling, she picked up the candle stub and lighter on the front table to use in any rooms without working electricity.

Time to do some exploring.

**A/N: I promise that the explanation for Alexis's persistent humanity is coming. I've even written it. It just isn't time for that chapter yet. *grin* I hope everyone enjoyed it. I think this is one of my favorite chapters so far. :-3**


	20. Ch 19: Exploration

**Chapter 19: Exploration**

The house had two wings stretching out on either side of the front foyer and then a bulkier portion behind the foyer. Alexis started down the hall with the bathroom she had used for her shower.

The far end of the hall opened on a massive room hung with three gorgeous, intricate chandeliers. Windows lined the walls and mirrors in the molded ceiling doubled the light from the chandeliers. Alexis felt her jaw drop open as she swung herself into the room. Darkness had fallen, so she couldn't make out anything beyond the windows, but she heard a light pattering and realized it had started to rain. Heading across the room, the sound of her feet and crutches echoed back from the walls. She peered out the window and could just make out the slanting drops of rain as they struck the glass panes. Turning, she looked around the room again.

Beneath the dust and cobwebs, she could tell the place must have been gorgeous once upon a time, a ballroom for entertaining a massive number of guests. What kind of person had Alucard's previous master been to need a room this size?

Finding nothing more interesting, she headed out and started checking doors. The bathroom she had used was situated between what appeared to be two bedrooms. There was another bathroom next to the ballroom, and across the hall, two large, narrow rooms with fireplaces. One held a billiards table and an empty wet bar. The other just held chairs and an easel with a completed painting of a mountain landscape on it. Had Alucard's previous master been interested in painting? No way to tell.

She headed back toward the foyer. Turning left from the hallway, she headed down another hall, finding more large rooms and what could only be a formal dining room. The table looked like it could seat twenty with room to spare and the austere wood paneled walls gave the room a somber look. She couldn't imagine eating in such a place. She'd feel like the ceiling was going to fall on her and consume her.

She did spot a door on the other side of the dining room but she decided to explore that later. There was one last door at the end of that corridor that she wanted to check out, first.

To her disappointment, the only light switch she found in that room didn't work. She almost left until she remembered the candle stub and lighter she had stuffed in her pocket. Pulling them out, she lit the candle and a smile broke over her face.

A library. A _huge_ one, from what she could tell. The light from the candle flame didn't stretch far, but it showed her enough. Were any of the books salvageable? There was no telling without checking and she didn't want to get into that, just yet. She could only hope that the house didn't have termites…or any other paper-eating insects.

Blowing out the candle, she returned to the hallway and headed for the dining room. On the other side of that room, she found another hallway and the kitchen. To her delight, the electricity worked here and she got to explore the room.

It was huge. Just how many people had they fed out of this kitchen? She could think of several restaurants that would be envious of this facility. Two industrial size ranges stood perpendicular to a bank of ovens. A huge table took up a large portion of the middle of the room with a rack full of pots and pans above it. Maybe she could start cooking her own food again. She was starting to get tired of Chinese. Speaking of which…her stomach chose that moment to let out a growl of complaint.

Alexis put a hand on her stomach and sighed. She might have found the kitchen, but she didn't have anything to cook. She had best order something. This late at night, it would have to be pizza.

Turning, she made her way out of the kitchen and back toward the foyer. She had a feeling she hadn't put a dent in the amount of exploration she had to do. She hadn't even finished the first floor.

Locating the office she and Alucard had used earlier in the day, she pulled out the papers that had the address on them. She still hadn't memorized it. Digging her phone out of her pocket, she called in an order and sat back to wait.

-ssSSss-

The boom of the knocker on the front door woke her out of a light doze. How could she _sleep_ so much? Wasn't there a point where the brain just had too much energy to shut down? Apparently not.

Groaning, she collected her crutches and hobbled out of the office. Alucard had already shown up, scowling at the front door.

"I ordered pizza," Alexis said, swinging herself toward the door.

The pizza guy seemed surprised to see her answering the door. Maybe it was the crutches. She signed the receipt and took the box. The pizza guy headed back to his car and Alexis frowned. How was she supposed to carry the box and use her crutches at the same time?

Before she spent too long trying to puzzle it out, a white-gloved hand reached out to take the box from her and she gave Alucard a grateful smile. He pushed the door closed and then led the way to the office that had become their center of operations. Alexis followed him, her mind on food and the rest of the house that she had to explore.

The plumber reported in while Alexis was still eating. The number he quoted for repairs made her jerk and gape at him with a mouthful of half-chewed pizza. He scowled and spread his hands in a helpless gesture.

"It's a big house, lady. It's old. It has a lot of problems. I've stopped the worst of the leaks, but they're temporary measures, only."

Alexis closed her mouth and finished chewing and swallowing. She glanced at Alucard, but the vampire just gave her blank face. She could only assume they had the money to take care of this cost. The figure he'd given her to cover monthly expenses more than covered this bill. She just wasn't used to being able to shell out those kinds of funds without a minor heart attack.

"It's fine. I'm not upset. It's just that…well, let's just say I only recently came into this house and the funds to take care of it." She gave the vampire a narrow look. "This time two weeks ago, I was living paycheck to paycheck in a one bedroom flat."

Mr. Peck's scowl cleared and a touch of understanding showed in his features…and considerably more than a touch of envy.

"Well, I suppose congratulations are in order…or would it be condolences?"

"Maybe a little of both. What do I owe you for tonight?"

The man named a sum and Alexis handed him her shiny new credit card to swipe through his reader. He gave it back to her and handed her the tablet to sign off on the transaction.

"Thank-ye, mum. Will we be completing the rest of the repairs?"

She really should get another assessment and see if someone else might do it cheaper but that would take time. She wanted it all fixed, and soon. Now that she was starting to get used to the idea of living in a place like this, she really wanted to see it clean and in good repair.

"That will be fine. How soon will the repairs be done?"

"We'll start tomorrow and barring any unforeseen obstacles, I'd say a week."

"Sounds good."

The man left and Alexis reached for another piece of pizza.

"So, tomorrow, we call that hiring agency and see if we can get some folks in here to start cleaning up, right?"

Alucard lifted an eyebrow and then a smile spread across his face. Had he thought she wouldn't want to restore the house? Okay, so she _had_ put up quite a fuss, but that was before she knew he had the money to take care of everything.

"In the mean time, I intend to explore. Since you've lived here before, I order you to go with me so I can ask questions."

To her surprise, he didn't protest. He just grinned and nodded. She smiled back and hurried to finish her meal.

They started in the East wing, across from the one that held the ballroom. The first couple of rooms appeared to be a sitting room and some kind of gallery. Beyond that, they found a room full of archaic computers and banks of monitors. Alexis cocked her head at the equipment.

"What was this for?"

"Security. The grounds were monitored from here," Alucard said, leaning in the doorway as she looked the stuff over. These machines must have been cutting edge…half a century ago. Why had they been left here to sit and grow more out of date as time passed?

Alexis glanced at the vampire and remembered the way he spoke of the woman that had been his master. Obviously, she must be dead. Was it her death that had caused him to leave everything in the house like this? Had he left it that way in honor of her memory? Perhaps she shouldn't ask. She didn't want to stir up painful memories.

"Interesting." She turned and headed for the door. Alucard held it open for her as she swung herself through. The rest of the wing held offices, a meeting room, what looked like an old infirmary, and…

"A gym and a weight room? Was there a pro sports player in the family or something?" Alexis looked around at the well-worn weights and machines. Could one person even put that much wear on weight equipment?

"No. The soldiers used this room to work out."

Alexis turned, a puzzled look on her features.

"Soldiers? Was this a military facility or a home?"

Alucard grinned, apparently enjoying her confusion and discomfiture.

"Both," he said. "The Hellsing family hunted vampires and other supernatural threats. They kept England safe from the monsters that hunted the night."

"Hellsing?" Why did that sound familiar? Her mind flashed on the novel that Alucard said had been fraught with inaccuracies and one particular name… "As in, _Van_ Helsing?"

Alucard ducked his head, peering at her through the strands of his hair with a mischievous smile on his face.

"One and the same."

Alexis felt a strange thrill in her chest. Did archaeologists feel like this when they found a new dig site or laid hands on a piece of history they'd only read about in old documents? She imagined they must. This verification that not only was Dracula based on real events, but the creature itself was standing right in front of her made her heart skip a beat with excitement.

"Tell me. I want to know all about it!"

Alucard cocked his head at her, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"Perhaps it would be better if you read about it in their own words."

He turned and headed for the door, his red duster swishing about his ankles. Alexis hurried after him as best she could on her crutches.

She expected him to take her to the library she had found earlier. Instead, he headed for the stairs down into the basement. She feared she might lose him as she navigated the steps, but she found him waiting for her at the bottom.

They travelled through the corridors to the stairs she'd only seen in passing that led down to yet another level of the house. There was, indeed, a sub-basement.

If she'd thought the basement was a warren of corridors and closed doors, it didn't hold a candle to this. Doors dotted the hallways and it felt eerily like a collection of jail cells…or a dungeon.

Just a few steps in, they discovered that the electricians would have to do some work down here. In the mean time, Alexis pulled out her candle stub and the lighter so she wouldn't have to stumble blindly in Alucard's wake. She left one crutch behind so she could carry the candle.

Alexis tried to keep her mind from wandering over the possible need for so many closely spaced doors or what the rooms beyond might contain. Alucard had said this place was as much military facility as home. Had this been their prison? Had anyone been left down here when the place was closed up?

Her imagination took that question and ran with it, making her feel the need to quicken her steps, despite the ache that was starting to develop in her right shoulder from only using one crutch.

They came to the end of what seemed to be the last corridor and found…a door. Alexis frowned and tilted her head to the side. It was made out of metal and set into a metal frame that stretched across the breadth of the corridor. The entire room beyond could be made out of metal so far as she could tell. What puzzled her was that the door had no lock, no handle, no knob. She might not have called it a door at all except that there was an obvious seam that made it look like something should open.

"Does it push open?"

Alucard turned and grinned at her, his fangs glinting eerily in the meager candle light.

"No human could push this door open."

With that cryptic statement, he turned back to the metal wall and walked _through_ the door. Oh, yeah. He could do that.

The sound of metal grating against metal reverberated up and down the stone corridor and the door swung inward. Alexis wasn't sure what she expected to find on the other side of that door. What could require a metal door that only a vampire could open? She certainly didn't expect what she found.

Filing cabinets. Gray, utilitarian filing cabinets lined the walls of the small room and stood back to back in rows down the center.

"These are the records of Hellsing." Alucard moved around the open door to where she could see him in her candle's flame. "They were too valuable to destroy and too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands, so I stored them here. Most of it was digitalized, but the technology is all but obsolete, now. You'll have to hire someone to transcribe it onto the newer data chips, but a lot of it is in hard copy, too, particularly the journals. You might want to start there."

Alexis blinked at the filing cabinet he indicated. So much information. She couldn't imagine how much data this room must contain. She hobbled over to the cabinet and pulled open the top drawer. She found binders, filled with paper, labeled and dated in a neat hand. The most recent date was almost fifty years ago.

Well, at least she had some reading material, now. Closing that drawer, she stooped to open the bottom one and found that, as she had suspected, the oldest dates were down there. She frowned at the cabinet. Having no idea how quickly she might work her way through the journals, she dreaded the thought of hobbling her way down here, in the dark, every time she needed another one. She looked at the vampire standing next to her.

"I want you to move this cabinet up next to the chair in the basement room so I can get to it."

The vampire grinned, a strange glint in his red eyes.

"Consider it done."

**A/N: So, yeah. A while back, I mentioned in Formative Years that I was creating a floor plan for Hellsing. Well, this is why. *grin* Sadly, I am no architect and it's probably fraught with mistakes, but it gives me a general layout to reference when I'm describing them wandering around the house. Heh. Big house. *nods***


	21. Ch 20: Staffing a House

**So, the chapters I'm working on are coming along really well. I pretty much know exactly how many chapters I have left to write and what is going to happen in those chapters, so I felt it would be fine to post another chapter before Monday, especially since the last one was rather short, especially compared to what I've been writing lately. O.o**

**Please enjoy and let me know how it's coming. I love hearing from you guys. :)**

**Chapter 20: Staffing a House**

Alexis curled up in the chair in the basement, reading until her eyes ached and her stomach growled. With her phone upstairs in the office, she had no idea what time it was. She could only assume it was early morning, so delivery was out of the question. She should have shopped for some groceries, but she'd discovered that the refrigerated room didn't work. Yes. The place had an entire room for a refrigerator. It wasn't a _big_ room, but still… One more thing to add to the list of stuff that needed repairs.

With a sigh, she closed the notebook she was reading and set it on the table that Alucard had placed next to her chair. She put her arms up in a stretch and winced as a pain shot through her hip. Her last pain pill had worn off. Yet another reason she needed food. The meat and cheese part of her leftover pizza from that afternoon wouldn't be any good, but she could at least eat the crust. That would make her stomach stop growling and let her take her pill so she could get some sleep. Wondering where Alucard was, she levered herself out of the chair and headed out the door and up the stairs.

Her hip throbbed as she struggled with the stairs. The muscle holding her knee bent at an angle trembled with fatigue and pain. On the top step, it gave out, making her foot drop and hit the stone. She hissed as red hot pain radiated down from her hip, a thrill of adrenaline skittering down her spine. She paused for a moment to let the worst of the pain fade and continued across the foyer to the small office. She breathed a sigh of relief as she set her crutches aside.

The chair jarred her hip again as she sat down and she hissed with the new flare of pain. She realized she hadn't gone this long without a pain pill since leaving the hospital.

She shifted in the chair so her weight didn't rest so much on her right hip and waited for the pain to fade to a bearable level. After a couple of minutes, it eased off and she reached toward the box with the leftover pizza. Flipping it open, she glanced around for her purse and realized she had taken it down to the basement…and left it there. Damn it!

"Alucard!"

She didn't bother to raise her voice too much. She'd come to the conclusion that his hearing was acute enough that he could probably hear her murmur from any place in the house, especially with no other noises in the house but those she made.

He appeared in the doorway, decked out in duster, hat and orange lenses. He didn't say a word as he reached up to slide the glasses down his nose. One red eye widened as he cocked an eyebrow at her.

Alexis shifted and gave him an irritable look.

"My pain medicine is downstairs in my purse. Bring it to me. I'm not climbing down those stairs again."

Both red eyes widened and Alexis narrowed her eyes at him, expecting him to refuse. She had every intention of bawling him out if he did. Either he wanted her to command him or he didn't.

A wide grin bloomed on his face at the steely look in her eyes. He bowed and turned with a flare of his duster as he headed for the basement.

Alexis sat back and closed her eyes, willing the pain away as she waited for her vampire to come back.

-ssSSss-

After eating the crusts of pizza and letting the pain pill kick in, Alexis made her torturous way back downstairs and fell into bed. She slept like the dead, but in a good way. If she dreamed, she didn't remember it and she woke to her phone's alarm feeling refreshed and rested. She needed a pain pill again, though.

Rising, she used the light from her phone to find the door. To her relief, she found the bar set off to the side. She could let the vampire sleep.

Her first order of business, after visiting the bathroom, was to call out for lunch. After that, she pulled out the papers Mr. Allen had provided and called the staffing agency he had recommended.

The cordial voice that answered the phone left her mind momentarily blank. She'd intended to ask for a butler, but it suddenly occurred to her that the whole 'servant' concept that Alucard was used to wasn't the same in the current day and age. Most people did for themselves these days, even the relatively wealthy. Did they even call them butlers anymore?

"Hello?"

"Ah…err. I'm sorry. I'm looking for some, ah, help. Your company was recommended to me by a Mr. Allen."

The line fell quiet for a few moments and Alexis wondered if she'd been disconnected.

"Hello?" She heard what might have been a sigh but she couldn't say for certain.

"What kind of '_help_' are you needing?"

"Oh! I'm sorry. That would help, wouldn't it?" With a wince, Alexis realized she was babbling and made a concerted effort to get herself under control. "I just moved into a big house. A _really_ big house. It's been closed up for a while. I need some help getting it cleaned up, organized, repaired and, err, staffed, I guess." She'd never had to worry about staffing a house, before…or anything else, for that matter. Too weird.

"I see. Let me get some information from you."

After handing over the address, her personal information and a credit card number, the agency agreed to send a temporary estate manager over to help get the house in order. By the end of the conversation, Alexis could hear the disdain rolling off the receptionist's tongue. Was it that obvious she had no clue what she was doing?

She hung up the phone feeling a little dejected. Maybe the estate manager wouldn't be quite so snooty. It wasn't _her_ fault she was out of her depth, here.

Tightening her hand around the phone, Alexis grit her teeth and pushed the dejection away. She _would_ get this figured out. Everyone had their learning curve. The snooty receptionist could just get over herself.

While she waited for the knock indicating food had arrived, Alexis had called for the refrigeration technician to come look at the unit and called the plumbing company to see when they would be out again. The person that answered the phone pulled her file and started rambling on about digging under slabs, backflow, rusted pipes and stop gap measures. By the time she got off the phone, she felt like she'd had too much information crammed into her head in a much too small space of time. The distraction of food came as a welcome relief.

As she ate, she flipped through more of the journal she was working on. It was almost better than a novel, except that Abraham Van Helsing had used some strange phrases and sentence structure. If she recalled correctly, he was from Amsterdam, so English wouldn't have been his native language. That made sense.

He told a very different story than that in the novel. Oh, Dracula still turned Lucy into a vampire…or more accurately, a fledgling, and Van Helsing staked her. That much was the same, and apparently Jonathan Harker's journals from his time in Transylvania were accurate. Well, as accurate as they could be when influenced by the mind of a madman. The novel never mentioned that Harker had been one of John Seward's patients, albeit in a private setting. Van Helsing mentioned several times that Seward had consulted with him about his 'functionally mad' patient.

Alexis found herself chortling over Van Helsing's entries about Jonathan's threats to take the whole incident public when Abraham decided to keep and study the vampire they had subdued rather than killing it as Jonathan wanted. She also found it interesting that the close relationship between Jonathan and Mina portrayed in the book was decidedly one-sided in reality and they had never married. Mina had disappeared from England shortly after Van Helsing captured Alucard and Alexis couldn't find any further mention of her after that. She almost felt sorry for Harker and his unrequited love, except that he obviously _had_ gone public with the story, and apparently had Stoker rewrite the events to reflect what he _wished_ had happened. Self-aggrandizement at its best.

She couldn't help but wince as she read Abraham's account of capturing and holding the vampire.

_Journal of Abraham Van Helsing_

_December 16, 1893_

_ Still, the creature refuses to speak. I have so many questions, but it does nothing more than snarl and hiss. The holy water continues to be an effective deterrent and disciplinary tool, but the welts it leaves are slow to heal. The creature needs blood, but feeding it gives it strength which we have trouble controlling. Bickersdyke's wounds from the last time we allowed the creature to feed continue to fester and I do not know if he will live. I begin to think that only the long voyage bereft of blood and crossing that vast body of water weakened the monster enough for us to defeat it. I shudder to think what might have happened had it paused to feed before its mad rush to the castle. We might, even now, be little more than bones moldering in the Transylvanian earth._

_Later_

_ Seward has informed me that Bickersdyke is dead. That is the third death my decision to keep the monster has caused. May God have mercy on my soul. I must find a way to control the creature. Nothing works but total starvation and incarceration. At this rate, my research will stall indefinitely and I will be forced to destroy the thing entirely. If it comes to that, too many men will have died in vain, although I suppose dear Quincey would not believe his death to be wasted. He wanted nothing more than the monster's destruction, after all._

_ I have recently come into a book that delves into the mysteries of alchemy. Perhaps I shall find answers there._

_December 17, 1893_

_ The men have taken the news of Bickersdyke's death hard. They are calling for the monster's destruction and I find it difficult to justify denying them. I have convinced them to give me a week to find the answer. In the mean time, I have driven an Ash stake through the creature's heart and taken the head. As before, the body fails to crumble into dust as every other vampire I have destroyed did, so I know it still lives. At this point, I begin to wonder if anything _can_ destroy this one. Its resilience is beyond all reasonable expectation._

_ I have begun reading the alchemical texts and I have hopes that the key to controlling the creature and make it safe lies in the words of the Ripley Scroll. I only hope there is time before the men decide to see if fire will destroy the monster and my efforts become moot._

Alexis shuddered as she imagined Alucard decapitated and staked, but still alive, perhaps even still aware. She hated the way Van Helsing referred to Alucard as a thing rather than a thinking being. He seemed to view the count as a particularly intelligent animal. He'd tried to tame that animal, with a very Victorian approach: beat it until it obeys. Naturally, that didn't work very well for the cunning, _sentient_ vampire. Thankfully, he had worked out a far more effective and _permanent_ method of controlling the monster that didn't require ongoing torture: the Hellsing seal.

Alexis set the binder aside as she finished her last bite of lo mein. She understood Alucard's references to his 'master', now. How long had he been free of the servitude? He'd said the house had been closed up for forty years. Assuming that was when he'd been freed from this 'seal', he'd been a slave for almost a hundred and fifty years. And yet, he'd spoken fondly of his last master. She couldn't imagine he could have any affection for this man that wrote about him with clinical indifference, like he was an overly spirited workhorse that had to be broken to harness.

At least Van Helsing had set the seal on him. Some of the methods he had described to control the vampire prior to the seal and their results made her shudder. She would have called the man a butcher, except that he seemed to truly want to understand the vampire. He expressed frustration and disappointment each time the creature rebelled. Maybe if he'd thought of Alucard as a thinking being, capable of emotions like rage, hatred and pride, as opposed to the dumb animal he treated the vampire as, he would have had more success. One thing the novel got right…Van Helsing believed Alucard had a child's mind and a particularly spoiled one at that. The man didn't seem to be able to wrap his brain around the possibility that Alucard could think like a man, never mind that he had arranged passage between Transylvania and England twice, dealt with solicitors to procure property and had written numerous letters. Of course, it didn't help that in the early months of captivity, Alucard had refused to speak in anything more than snarls, growls and hisses. Not that she could blame him.

A knock at the front door interrupted her musing thoughts and she reached for her crutches to hobble out into the foyer. Bright sunlight filtered through the front windows, winning past the dust and grime to paint hazy squares of light on the fuzzy floor. She really couldn't wait to see what it looked like, clean.

Swinging herself across the room, she pulled the massive front door open. A man stood on the front stoop, dressed in a crisp black suit and starched white shirt. He had dark brown hair, liberally streaked with silver, especially around the temples. Lines graced his forehead and the corners of his eyes, just enough to give him character. Alexis imagined he might be one of those men who grew more handsome and distinguished with age. She smiled. This must be the estate manager.

"Hi. My name is Alexis. Alexis Montreve." She held a hand out, bracing her crutch under her arm and leaning on the other one.

"Rodney Ellis, madam." He took her hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Please, come in." Alexis gripped the handles of her crutches and carefully maneuvered backwards so he could step through the door. He made a face as his brightly shined shoes stirred up dust on the marble floor. "So, as you can see…it needs some help. The place has been closed up for decades. We've already called for repairs on the plumbing, electricity and the refrigerator. I'm honestly not sure what else might need fixing and the structural inspection mentioned some things that needed help there, too. Of course, the place is a mess but…well…as you can see, I'm somewhat out of commission for the moment. I think I'd be a hazard with a broom, right now."

A small smile twitched at the corner of the man's mouth, but he quickly got it under control.

"Yes, madam. I can arrange for the cleaning and any decorative changes you would like to make, as well as arranging for a full inspection of the house so that all necessary repairs can be completed. How many staff members were you planning to employ?"

Alexis sighed and bit her lip.

"I was actually hoping you could help with that. I've never owned a place this size. I hardly know where to start. It's really just me and my…friend. I doubt we'll use much of the place, so I can't imagine we'll need much."

"I see." He looked up at the cob webbed chandelier and seemed to make a decision. "I will have some cleaning staff sent over to get started on repairing the state of the…err…mess, as you call it. I can also arrange for an inspector. In the mean time, you and I can sit down to discuss the needs of the house and prepare a plan of action."

"That sounds great."

-ssSSss-

Her new employee insisted that she call him by his last name, Ellis. Anything less formal was inappropriate and he insisted on calling her Miss Montreve. That just felt weird. She wasn't sure she liked the formality, but as the old saying went, when in Rome…

It didn't take long for him to call in the request for cleaning staff and equipment. He verified that she was willing to pay overtime if necessary and she agreed. If they really had as much money as Alucard said, it wouldn't be an issue.

She spent the afternoon with Ellis, learning about the basics of estate management. He answered the door when the cleaning staff arrived as well as the repair technicians when they showed up. Before long, the distant echo of industrious activity and murmuring voices made the place feel more lived in than it had since she'd stepped through the door.

Ellis helped her decide on a basic staff of butler, housekeeper and groundskeeper with part time maids and cook, as needed. Alexis nodded as she looked at the salary recommendations he gave her.

"If you wish to have employees that live on-site, it is not considered appropriate to reduce their salary for room and board. The room and board compensates for their services around the clock. You would also need to give them at least one day off per week."

"That makes sense."

Alexis hadn't even realized that live-in servants existed in this day and age. Although, if she thought about it, she realized that she had always assumed that people like the royal family would have such staff, but they were _royalty_. She felt as comparable to them as a sparrow was to a kite. She still hadn't wrapped her mind around the idea of having people _work_ for her. She felt even more shocked when one of the cleaning staff showed up with a list of household necessities that were lacking and Ellis began making a shopping list that _he_ intended to go out and take care of.

"You will need to establish an account for your staff to use for household necessities and provide them the necessary cards to access the funds. I assume you have not established any such account?

"Well…no."

"As I thought. I suggest contacting your bank and arranging for that while I'm gone. I will pay for this through the agency for now and it will be added to your bill."

"Ah…yeah. That sounds great."

"Very well. I will return."

She sat, shell shocked and blinking at the wall of the office for several minutes after he left. It felt like so much to take in. Her life had been turned upside down in a matter of days and she wasn't sure she had any right to complain about it. Not with the direction it seemed to be headed in.

Mentally shaking herself out of her daze, she reached for her phone.

-ssSSss-

Alexis pressed the 'end' button on the phone and growled under her breath. They wouldn't set up a new account for her over the phone. She would have to go into one of the bank branches to sign off on the paperwork. She didn't want to leave today, not with all the people in the house. It would have to wait until later. Maybe she could go on Thursday when she had a follow up appointment with her doctor. She should probably take that time to meet with Mr. Allen as well. Since Alucard had put all of this in her name, she needed to understand what, exactly, she now had access to. She should probably see if they could recommend any classes in managing this kind of estate and fortune as well. Despite her comments about maxing out the credit card, she really didn't want to ruin the windfall, but she'd never had access to even a fraction of this kind of money. The temptation to run out and spend it burned through her, but she refused to squander it away. Alucard wouldn't thank her for that.

With a sigh, she reached up to rub the bridge of her nose. This was all getting complicated very quickly and she needed another pain pill.

Leaning across the desk to reach for her purse with the prescription bottle in it, she paused when a distant scream echoed through the foyer. She scowled, craning her head to peer through the office door into the foyer. It already looked better, but where had the sunlight gone?

A second, longer scream came from the direction of the basement stairs.

"Oh, shit!"

She'd forgotten to warn the cleaning staff and repair technicians to stay out of the basement. She grabbed her crutches and shoved herself to her feet, wincing as pain flared out from her hip. That was starting to get old, fast. She cursed her lack of mobility as she awkwardly maneuvered out of the office and swung herself toward the basement stairs.

"Don't hurt her, Alucard! Damn it, you better not have ghouled her!"

She clattered down the stairs, hissing as she stumbled and took more weight on her injured leg than she meant to.

"Alucard!"

Like magic, he was there, catching her against his chest as she overbalanced and almost went tumbling down the stairs. She blinked up at him.

"Damn it, she better be okay."

A wide grin split his face.

"That depends on how you would define 'okay'. She is not dead, ghouled or turned. However, I wouldn't lay odds on her ever stepping foot in this house again."

Alexis sighed. She should have warned everyone. Alucard didn't like her touching his coffin. She could only imagine what he'd do if a total stranger touched it or invaded his personal space, especially if he'd just woken up. The woman was probably lucky to be alive. Alexis could only hope she was still sane.

"I suppose I'll have to 'rescue' her. Where is she?"

"Cowering in a corner corridor."

"Take me to her."

"As you command."

**A/N: Heh, so that's my take on the Dracula story. I never really liked that book and had an inordinate amount of fun undermining the whole thing. *grin* And, that part with Van Helsing dealing with his new slave is a bit of a nod to maroongrad's stories. If you haven't read her stuff, you really need to. They're awesome. :)**


	22. Ch 21: Staff vs Vampire

**Chapter 21: Staff vs. Vampire**

Alexis hobbled in the vampire's wake, angry but not sure who she was angry at. Nominally, she was angry at Alucard for frightening the woman, and partially at the woman for being in the basement, but in the end, the real anger was directed at herself. She should have thought about this, and although Alucard hadn't told her he didn't want anyone going into his room in the basement, she should have thought of it. After all, what would anyone think about finding a coffin in a basement, much less the vampire that slept in it?

She heard the whimpering first and a small screech as Alucard rounded a corner in front of her. A low chuckle rumbled up out of the vampire's throat and Alexis grit her teeth.

"Get out of sight," she hissed as she came around the corner. The woman huddled in the corner, cowering under a single bare bulb that was all that lit up this small cubby hole in the basement. Alucard had faded into the darkness, probably through a stone wall. Alexis hoped the woman hadn't seen that. She didn't need some of her earliest employees landing in a psych ward because of Alucard. She could just imagine how hard it would be to find staff with that story circulating.

"Are you okay, Miss…?" Alexis hobbled into the light and hoped the woman was coherent enough to give her a name.

"G…g…ghost! C…covered in b…blood! _Ghost_!" Her eyes darted wildly about as Alexis tried to puzzle out how she'd seen a 'ghost covered in blood'.

"I haven't seen anything. Come on. Let's get you back upstairs. The basement is dark and anyone's imagination could run wild down here." Alexis gave the woman her best, confident smile but the cowering form just shook her head and trembled. Alexis sighed. She moved closer and the woman curled into a tighter ball, starting to rock and moan. Okay, maybe it was too late to keep her out of the psych ward.

"What's your name?" No answer. Alexis grit her teeth, her eyes narrowing. She couldn't exactly manhandle the woman out and getting Alucard to try to carry her would be a disaster. She hated to do this, but she didn't see much choice.

"Alucard." She said it softly under her breath so the woman couldn't hear, but she knew the vampire would. "Come through the wall behind her. _Try_ not to frighten her too much, but startle her and drive her toward the stairs."

A low chuckle came from the wall at the end of the cubby and a white-gloved hand appeared through the solid stone and touched the woman's arm. Alexis winced as the woman shrieked and scrambled away from the wall. She barreled past Alexis, knocking her off balance as she sprinted out of the cubby. Alexis caught herself against the wall and saw the woman dart to the right only to come running right back with Alucard stalking after her. The grin on his face told her the vampire was enjoying this entirely too much.

Grumbling under her breath, Alexis got her balance back and swung herself after them. The basements would definitely be off limits for the time being unless someone absolutely had to come down here. She didn't want to deal with this again.

She found Alucard at the bottom of the stairs, leaning against a wall and grinning like the cat that got the canary. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I suppose you enjoyed that, you sadist."

His grin widened.

"I live to follow your commands."

Alexis snorted and rolled her eyes as she made her way up the stairs. Of course he did, especially when it involved tormenting someone.

The door to the foyer stood open and she hobbled out onto the porch in time to see a car peel out down the driveway and turn onto the road that fronted the estate. Ellis stood next to a black Mercedes, scowling after the car. At the sound of crutches on the front porch, he turned to look at Alexis with a questioning look.

"She thought she saw something in the basement." It wouldn't do to let anyone know that there really was a monster in the basement, or what kind of monster, so Alexis went with the story of a ghost that the woman already believed. When she finished explaining, Ellis glanced back down the driveway, his scowl deepened.

"Words cannot express how sorry I am for Madeleine's behavior, Miss Montreve. I assure you I will be reporting this incident to her supervisor. Our agency does not condone such behavior in any of the staff. Please accept our sincerest apologies."

Alexis felt horrible. It wasn't the woman's fault. She wasn't crazy or making things up, but she couldn't exactly explain that to Ellis.

"Please don't get her in too much trouble. It's a big, spooky house and she _was_ in the basement. We should probably keep people out of there for the time being anyway. I don't need it cleaned, after all, just the living stories."

Ellis scowled with disdain. It galled him that anyone working under him should act so uncouth in front of their employer. Still, it was their policy to give the customer anything they wished that was within the scope of their power and the customer's pocketbook.

"I will mention what you have said when I report this to her supervisor."

Alexis sighed. His tone of voice suggested that he might mention what she'd said, but he wouldn't encourage them to take it under consideration. Still, she had done what she could.

Ellis retrieved a grocery bag from the back seat of the car and made his way up the porch steps, nodding to Alexis as he passed her. She smiled until he got through the door and then she drooped. This whole incident made her realize that when she hired permanent staff, she would have to find people that could know about and handle what Alucard was. How did you put that into an advertisement? _Seeking estate manager with four years experience and willingness to work with vampires_. Yeah. That would go over well.

Turning, she headed through the door. In her panic to help the woman, earlier, she hadn't taken a good look at the foyer. It looked more austere, now, because they had removed the dust-covered silk flower arrangement. The table had been cleaned and polished along with the stairs and banister. The air smelled lemony and fresh. With the marble floor swept, it reflected back the light from the chandelier. Although the crystal chains in the light fixture still needed scrubbing, the worst of the cobwebs had been removed and the whole place looked brighter.

Curious about what else had been done, she swung herself down the hall to find a similar treatment in the dining room and two front rooms that she thought of as living rooms but were probably parlors or drawing rooms. What was the difference, anyway? And why did a house need _two_ of them?

She took a closer look at the front room and smiled. Some of the furniture looked shabby and in need of refinishing, but the cleaning alone made the place a hundred percent more livable. The windows looked out onto what appeared to be the remnants of a garden, the weeds lost in the shadows of the dying day.

"Miss Montreve?" She turned to find Ellis standing in the doorway.

"Yes?"

"I don't know where you may have been sleeping, but the staff have located the main master suite and cleaned it. The electricity and plumbing appear to be in working order, there. Would you like us to prepare it for your use?"

Alexis grinned. She didn't mind the basement room that she shared with Alucard, but a master _suite_ sounded intriguing.

"That sounds great."

"Excellent, madam."

"Before you go, Ellis," she said, interrupting his bow. "Do we have any idea how long repairs on the refrigerator are going to take? I'm getting tired of delivery." Her stomach chose that moment to growl and she put her hand on it with a sheepish smile.

"I will check on that, immediately. In the mean time, I took the liberty of purchasing some non-perishable foods as well as an ice chest and ice for a small selection of other things that do need to be kept cool. Would you like me to prepare a meal for you?"

Alexis blinked. Why hadn't she thought of that?

"Ah…sure. That sounds wonderful."

Ellis completed his bow and left the room like a swift shadow. Alexis stared after him, wondering what to do with herself. She couldn't complain about this whole servant concept, but she was used to fixing her own meals when she was hungry. What should she do with herself while she waited? And then she remembered the notebook with the Hellsing journal she was working on reading.

Swinging her way back to the office, she retrieved the notebook, tucked it under her chin and returned to the front room to settle into a comfortable armchair. She opened it to the page she'd left off at and continued reading.

Ellis arrived several minutes later with a plate of fruit, summer sausage, sharp cheese and crackers. Alexis grinned, thrilled to see something that wasn't Chinese or pizza.

"Thank you, Ellis."

"Of course, Miss Montreve. I believe the bulk of the initial cleaning has been completed. I will compile an inventory of the house and repairs for you to review. Would you like to meet about that this evening or tomorrow?"

Alexis glanced at the window where the last of the evening light had faded, leaving the overgrown garden in deepest shadow.

"It's pretty late for you guys, isn't it?"

"It is outside of normal working hours, madam, but by necessity, your schedule is our schedule."

Alexis smiled and shook her head. Between Alucard and these people, she wasn't sure what to do. She simply wasn't used to having _anyone_ defer to her like this. Alucard had made it clear that he expected to be bossed around, but she didn't want to be accused of abusing her staff.

"If that suite you mentioned is ready, I think everyone can call it a night. Just show me where it is and we can handle the rest of this tomorrow."

"Very good, madam. I will see to the suite and dismiss the staff while you sup." He bowed and left the room. Alexis settled down in her chair and nibbled on a piece of cheese while she went back to her reading.

-ssSSss-

Alexis gaped at the room as she balanced on her crutches. Chairs and a loveseat clustered around a fireplace with an ornate marble mantle. The room seemed somehow empty, but that only served to emphasize how big it was.

"Where's the bed?"

Ellis smiled and coughed with a hand over his mouth. Was that a hint of a chuckle on the tail end of that cough?

"This is a suite, madam. You are standing in the boudoir."

"Oh." What the heck was a boudoir, anyway?

"The bedroom is through this door."

Ellis pushed open a door beside the fireplace and Alexis blinked as she walked past him. The fireplace went through to the other side so that one fire could heat both rooms. Two wing back chairs sat on either side of a small, wooden table in front of the hearth. The rest of the room stretched out behind those in huge, but virtually empty splendor. The queen sized bed looked dwarfed by the proportions of the room where it sat against the far wall. This entire room, alone, was easily twice the size of her apartment.

"This looks like a ballroom. Who needs this much space to sleep?"

This time, Ellis couldn't quite smother the chuckle.

"I'm sure I wouldn't know, madam."

Alexis turned to him and smiled.

"It's okay to laugh, Ellis. I'm sure I'm not like anyone you've worked with, before. I don't mind if you find it amusing."

"Very good, madam." He said it with a straight face and Alexis had to smother a laugh of her own.

"I assume the closet is through that door?" Alexis pointed at a door on the other side of the fireplace. Ellis nodded.

"The closet and the bathroom, madam."

"Well, I can explore those on my own. Is there more of that cheese and sausage in the kitchen in case I get hungry, later?"

"Of course, madam. Would you like me to prepare a plate for later?"

Alexis laughed and shook her head.

"I'm not that helpless. I can get it for myself if I need it. You go on home. I assume I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course, madam. What time would you like to begin your day?"

"Umm…eleven? I find myself becoming more and more nocturnal as time goes on." She could probably blame that on a certain creature of the night who would remain nameless.

"As you wish, madam. Until tomorrow."

Ellis bowed himself out as Alexis headed for the door to the bathroom and closet.

Her jaw dropped again as she pushed the door open. Was that a _Jacuzzi_ tub? Wondering if it worked, she balanced on one foot and stretched her arms out and marveled. She'd never lived in a house with a bathroom big enough that she could turn a circle with her arms spread out and not touch a wall. The closet on the other side of the bathroom was bigger than the bedroom back at the apartment. The meager collection of clothes that Alucard had brought for her had been hung just inside the door. They took up a pathetically small amount of space in the room. Hell, every stitch of clothing she owned wouldn't take up a fraction of the available space.

Suddenly, the sheer size of the house descended on her. This was a place for a family, a dynasty, not a single woman and a vampire. She felt like a pea rattling around in an empty box. For the first time in years, she wasn't exhausted from working two jobs and worrying about the blackmail hanging over her head. She had nothing more pressing to do than reading the journals Alucard had shown her and she felt…lonely.

She had no friends. She hadn't had _time_ for friends. She hadn't parted on good terms with her mother and wasn't close to any other family. She didn't want to sleep in this great, echoing, empty room. She wanted the bed in the basement that Alucard assembled for her…and her vampire. With a shock of surprise, she realized she hadn't seen him all day, except for that brief escapade with the cleaning woman, and she _missed_ him.

With a sigh and an ironic smile, she left the rooms and made her careful way down two flights of stairs to the basement.

"Alucard?"

He phased through a stone wall with an inquisitive tilt to his eyebrow. Alexis felt a sudden, inexplicable urge to hug him, but she wasn't at all sure that would go over well. More importantly, she wasn't sure she was ready to reveal that kind of emotion to him. Whatever it was that made him want to obey her orders, she couldn't afford to jeopardize it, now. Instead, she nodded toward the basement room.

"We need to talk about how the cleaning and repair people are going to deal with the basement and then I wanted to read a little more before bed."

The vampire gave her a surprised look…and did he look a little pleased? She lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Shall I move the filing cabinet to your new rooms?"

Alexis shook her head. Somehow, it didn't surprise her that he knew the cleaning staff had prepared a suite for her.

"No. I will stay down here, for now. Somehow, I don't see you sleeping upstairs and I plan to stay where you are."

"As you command," Alucard said with a bow and a devilish grin.

Smiling at that phrase that had become strangely familiar, Alexis headed down the hall toward the distant door. Here, with the vampire at her back, in the cool stone corridor and dimly lit room, she felt at home. Maybe the suite upstairs would feel cozier eventually, with some redecorating, but not yet. Somehow, she suspected it wouldn't feel right at all unless Alucard agreed to move his coffin up there.

**A/N : So, what does it mean when your best friend is a bipolar vampire and you'd rather sleep in a dank basement room with him rather than a master suite with a Jacuzzi tub? Heh. Guess Alexis is finding out. *grin***


	23. Ch 22: Follow up with the Doctor

**Whew. This almost didn't get posted. We went to A-Kon in Dallas this weekend and I am **_**exhausted**_**. It was my first anime convention where I attended all the days. We had a GREAT time. One of my friends dressed up as Kisame from Naruto and we got tons of awesome feedback on it. I made the sword and did the face painting. I don't know how many times I heard people say he was the best Kisame they'd ever seen. He could barely walk ten feet without people stopping him to get pictures. Lol.**

**That sword was fun to make too. My friend is tall, so the sword ended up being a little over six and a half feet long and a little over one foot wide in the blade. I think we're going to do it next year too for A-Kon 25 and I want to do a cosplay for my husband too. Trying to decide what, though. Right now, the options are Sephiroth, Vincent Valentine or Jace Beleren. I want something impressive that will mean he doesn't make it far before he gets stopped for pics. Lol. I'd really love to do him as Alucard, but he's squidgy about wearing three layers of clothing in the Texas summer heat. I can't say as I blame him on that one. Still, it might be an option. They kept the hotel pretty cold this year. I'd have to make the guns though, and that's a whole other ballgame from making Kisame's sword. Plus, I'd want the vintage Willson Safety glasses with the orange lenses and I have no idea how to cut a lense for glasses. Lol.**

**Chapter 22: Follow up with the Doctor**

Alexis woke earlier than she expected, but that gave her time to get upstairs and change before Ellis arrived. She gave the Jacuzzi tub a look of longing but she wasn't sure she had the time for a soak. Maybe later. Instead, she got a quick shower and donned clean clothes. This part of the master suite she couldn't complain about at all.

Ellis arrived with a small battalion of cleaning personnel and repairmen. They had a quick meeting in the foyer as Ellis handed out assignments and reminded everyone to stay out of the basements.

"Have you eaten, Miss Montreve?"

Alexis shook her head and Ellis assigned one woman to prepare a meal. Everyone scattered and Ellis gestured for Alexis to lead the way to somewhere they could meet. Deciding she wanted to be comfortable, she led the way to the front parlor.

Ellis set a briefcase on a side table and pulled out a sheaf of papers.

"As the staff cleaned yesterday, I had them make an inventory of the rooms in the house and a general idea of their contents," he said, looking through the papers. "Of course, we don't have any information on the basement rooms and a full inventory of the furnishings and contents of the upper floors will take more than a day." He peered over the rim of the reading glasses he had donned to go over the papers. Alexis blinked and realized he was waiting for a response from her.

"Err…oh. Of course. That's fine, and completely understandable."

"Very good, madam. I must say that the East wing is most…curious."

Alexis frowned, trying to think which part of the house would be East. Cardinal directions weren't her strong suite.

"Right, upon entering the house," Ellis said, seeing the confusion on her face.

"Oh…the military wing."

"Military, madam?"

"Oh, well, it's the history of the house, you know. I don't know a lot about it, but the original owner, from what I understand, kept a…err…a private army."

Alexis winced as she finished on such a lame note. Who kept a private army in this day and age? or even half a century ago? Reading the journals had given her an idea what they were for, but she couldn't exactly discuss the previous owner's penchant for vampire hunting with Ellis. At best, he'd think the last owner was a kook. At worst, he'd assume Alexis was just as crazy.

"Ah. I…uh…I see." He seemed rather nonplussed as he adjusted his glasses and looked through his papers again. "That would explain a few things, certainly. The, ah, third floor would then be barracks and servants quarters, I believe. The staff found over forty dormitory-style rooms there with a large communal bathroom such as might be found in a public gym. There appears to also be a large amount of storage, stairs that lead to a helipad on the roof and a room that I can only describe as a command center."

Alexis lifted her eyebrows and exhaled with surprise. They weren't joking around with the whole soldier thing.

"Well, I think those rooms can be closed up once they're cleaned and everything verified to be structurally sound and in working order. I don't think I'll need them unless I plan to open an orphanage."

She meant it as a joke, but in retrospect, she probably could do something of the sort with this much room and money. What a thoroughly asinine thought.

Ellis chuckled and made a notation on his papers.

"Very good. There is also a servant's section on the third floor with six bedrooms, a shared bathroom and dining and living rooms as well as a small kitchenette. Lastly, there is a small guest suite on that floor."

"I guess we should probably get the servant area fixed up…or should I use a guest suite? I really have no idea."

Ellis gave her a smile.

"It is certainly your prerogative, madam, to decide how to accommodate your staff. Perhaps you can make that decision once you have seen the rooms for yourself and hired your staff."

Alexis returned his smile.

"I like that idea. Let's get those rooms opened and prepared. They can always be closed up again if necessary."

"Yes, madam," Ellis said, making another note.

Alexis learned there were two master suites on the second floor and five smaller suites excluding the one on the third floor, for a total of twelve bedrooms in what Ellis called the family living area. She blinked at that number, a little shocked, especially when Ellis described the rooms as being of substantial size. What in the world would she do with all of that?

"I suppose, leave one of the suites open…you know, in case I have any company. Maybe the one on the ground floor. The rest might as well be closed up."

"Yes, madam."

The soldier's wing had additional bedrooms as well, on the second floor. Ellis speculated they might have been for officers since they had private bathrooms and closets. One even had a receiving room. They had found another library on the second floor, class rooms, what appeared to be a game room and a chapel. Alexis wondered if Alucard had any problems dealing with the chapel. She decided to ask him, later, as Ellis went on to describe the office complex on the other side of the second floor.

"It's at the end of the West wing with seven offices, a waiting room and two large meeting rooms. I would say these were offices for the officers except that there are additional offices on the ground floor of the soldier wing." Ellis scowled and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was the most emotional that Alexis had seen him get. "We didn't find anything to suggest what they were used for except furniture. I'll be honest, Miss Montreve. I've never seen a house quite like this. It's like the home offices of a small corporation crossed with a home and with its own military attaché. Most wealthy business owners will have a small corporation to manage their funds, but they don't usually keep them in their homes. I want to say the previous owner must have been quite the workaholic, probably in some branch of government. I don't see anyone in England having their own standing army without the permission and approval of the crown. At least, not in the last three hundred years."

Alexis nodded.

"You may be right, Ellis. It's certainly a mystery."

"Indeed, madam."

He finished his inventory with the first floor, most of which Alexis had already seen. She smiled when he told her the books in both libraries seemed to be intact.

"Is there any way your agency could send someone over to record and organize the books? I'd love to know what all is there."

"Of course, madam." Ellis made a notation. "I will include that with the inventory of the house's contents. Today, the staff will be doing a deeper cleaning, including bringing down chandeliers and polishing wood and marble surfaces. I have scheduled an inspector to come out and examine everything, so I should have a thorough list of repairs and replacements that are needed by the end of the day.

"In the mean time, I will help you draft advertisements for the staff you are interested in hiring and get a list of your preferences in foods, toiletries, colors and interior décor, if that is acceptable?"

Alexis frowned, still a little baffled by the sheer size of the house itself.

"Ah…sure. Yeah. We can do that."

-ssSSss—

Alexis closed the notebook and set it in her lap, letting her head fall back against the chair. She had read through most of the first year that Van Helsing had kept Alucard enslaved. The man's journals seemed to finally reflect an acknowledgement of the vampire's intellect and wit. He certainly appreciated the advantage that the vampire's superior strength gave him in his continuing endeavors to hunt down and destroy the undead.

A soft rustling drew her attention and Alexis looked across the room to see Alucard lounging in an impossibly high-backed chair, legs crossed at the knee with a laptop balanced on the top knee. That still baffled her mind. He sat there with the utter confidence and arrogance of a medieval king, dressed in clothing straight out of the Victorian era with a state of the art computer at his fingertips. He was a walking anachronism, and yet it suited him. He just wouldn't be Alucard if he fit into any of her preconceived ideas of what a vampire should be.

The vampire tapped a couple of keys and reached out to pick up a wine glass filled with a dark red liquid. Alexis knew it had to be blood, but she hadn't asked where it came from. Better not to know. He took a sip and set the glass down again. His hand came back to his lap and only then did his eyes leave the computer screen, lifting to lock with hers. Alexis blinked, realizing he had caught her staring at him. Quickly, she scrambled for something intelligent to say.

"I have a follow-up doctor's appointment in the morning and then I need to go to the bank. Since you'll obviously need to be there in case anything should happen, how, exactly, should I wake you up without risking my life in the morning?" Alexis felt rather proud of herself. It wasn't a bad topic of conversation, especially considering she'd pulled it out of her ass.

Alucard narrowed his eyes at her. He'd never actually had to consider such a question. Always before, he'd either been perfectly happy to destroy any human interrupting his slumber, or the Hellsing seal had held him back.

"You don't," he said after a stretch of silence. "I will stay awake into the day."

"You can do that?" Alexis frowned. "Won't that, exhaust you or something?"

Alucard cracked a grin.

"It takes more than some missed hours of sleep to defeat me. You didn't honestly believe I slept while you were in the hospital, did you? I would have killed the first nurse that disturbed me."

"Ah…oh." Alexis scowled down at her elevated leg. She honestly hadn't thought about it. "Fine, then. So long as it doesn't hurt you. I'd better go to bed, now. You may handle lost sleep well, but I don't."

-ssSSss—

True to his word, the vampire was awake and watching her in the darkness when her phone's alarm woke her. Alexis groaned and rolled over, groping for the infernal thing with telecommunication homicide on her mind.

With a supreme act of will power, she refrained from hurling the phone across the room. Instead, she silenced the alarm and stared into those glowing red eyes. Funny how something that had terrified her two short weeks ago could bring her comfort, now.

Alexis yawned and stretched, reaching up to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"I hate mornings," she said, grimacing at the ache that the stretching had set off in her leg. It didn't hurt as much as it had in the hospital, but she wasn't ready to lay off the pain meds, yet.

She had half an hour to shower and change before Ellis arrived with his crew. It hadn't occurred to her, until now, that Ellis hadn't met Alucard yet, but he would have to deal with the vampire during their rounds of London. This should be interesting.

"I need you to behave today," she said, leveling a look at Alucard. "Do not frighten Ellis. He's been a great help to me and I don't want to lose him before I've found a permanent replacement."

She didn't wait for a response as she began maneuvering herself out of bed. She'd given her order and she was starting to gain confidence that it would be followed.

Alucard chuckled and moved to open the basement room door for her.

-ssSSss-

Alexis jumped when the doorbell rang. She had become more and more uncertain as she had showered and dressed, trying to predict Ellis's reaction to Alucard. Would the human realize what Alucard was? Doubtful, but he might sense that there was something less than human about her roommate. That could cause problems, and the more she thought about it, the more problems she could imagine. Somehow, she really wanted the estate manager and her vampire to get along.

Rising from her seat in the small front office, she answered the door and smiled at the man on the other side. This morning, he was alone. She didn't feel comfortable with the idea of cleaning crew in the house when she wasn't there. What if some idiot stumbled into the basement and found the coffin? She couldn't see that ending well.

"Good morning, Miss Montreve."

"Hello, Ellis. Umm, before we go, you might as well come in and meet my roommate. He'll be going with us, today."

"Of course, madam."

The estate manager stepped through the door and closed it behind him, turning to look at her expectantly. She smiled.

"Alucard, Ellis is here." She didn't direct her words in any specific direction. With his ability to walk through walls, she couldn't be certain where he was in the house at any given time. Shouldn't that thought bother her? Somehow, it didn't.

Ellis gave her a strange look as they waited. She supposed anyone else might call for their friend again, assuming they hadn't heard the summons in this huge, empty house. Alexis knew better. Alucard had heard her. He was just taking his time.

On the tail end of that thought, the dull thud of boots on marble and the swish of Alucard's duster drifted from the right hand hallway. Shortly after, the vampire appeared, eyes hidden by his signature orange lenses and gloved hands hanging at his sides like a gunslinger ready to draw. Alexis glanced at Ellis to catch the man giving Alucard a discreet inspection, one eyebrow raised a fraction of a centimeter higher than the other.

"Ellis, this is my roommate, Alucard. Alucard, Ellis is the estate manager I've been working with."

Ellis gave a slight bow and Alucard's mouth stretched into a fang-baring grin for the couple of moments that the human's eyes were averted. Alexis glared at the vampire and he gave her a smug smirk as Ellis cast a confused look between them after his bow.

"Right. Everybody's good. Let's go."

Alexis headed for the door, hoping that her swift exit and dealing with the sun would distract the vampire from whatever he was thinking about doing to Ellis. Orders to leave the man alone notwithstanding, she could read the vampire's desire to torment the human in the curl of his smile and the tilt of his head. Ever the obedient servant, Ellis followed her outside and offered his assistance as she descended the stairs. She declined with a smile, more confident in the support of her crutches than his aged frame.

Alucard watched his human descend the stairs, his narrow gaze shifting once or twice to the man that would drive the car. He didn't know the man, and after Walter betrayed his master so long ago, he harbored a hefty dose of distrust for any man in a similar position. He'd run off nearly a dozen butlers between his return from the thirty year absence and Integra's death. He found himself wanting to do the same to this man, despite the fact that he had told Alexis to find such a servant to help her run the estate. A small smile curled those arrogant lips. He was many things. Consistent was not one of them.

-ssSSss-

Alexis sat in the waiting room of the hospital clinic. Alucard's red-clad form lounged in the seat next to her. Everyone else in the waiting room had migrated to the far side of the room, casting occasional nervous glances in their direction.

Sighing, Alexis looked up at Alucard. His eyes weren't visible with the glasses in place, but the tilt of his head suggested he was watching the cringing patients and the smile that turned the corner of his mouth was decidedly predatory.

"Stop that, Alucard. They're not your prey."

"Aren't they?" His low voice rumbled up out of his chest, tinged with humor. Alexis could only hope the others couldn't hear their conversation. "They are sick and lame. Is it not these that the natural predator culls first?"

Alexis snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Natural predators go for the sick and weak because it's _easy_," she said, giving him an arch look. "I didn't think you needed that kind of help procuring your dinner."

Alucard turned to look at her and reached up to pull the glasses down the bridge of his nose, revealing impressed red eyes. He flashed a grin at her, revealing fangs for just a moment, too fast for anyone to notice. She thought he might be mocking her, but he pushed the glasses back up on his nose and settled down in the chair, hands clasped over his middle and the brim of his hat hiding his features. The tension in the room eased off a notch.

Alexis sighed and shook her head. In some ways, Van Helsing was right about Alucard having a child's mind. He took immature to a whole new level, especially for a creature working on its eighth century.

The door next to the office window opened and a woman dressed in pale blue scrubs stepped out.

"Alexis Montreve?"

"That's me," Alexis said, sitting up and reaching out to fetch her crutches from where they leaned on the seat next to her. She pushed herself to her feet and hobbled toward the nurse, Alucard following like a red and black shadow. The nurse blinked up at the vampire and Alexis could see the thought cross her face…could she find a reason to make him stay in the waiting room?

"He's family," Alexis said, maneuvering herself through the door. The nurse glanced between them and finally just nodded.

"This way, please."

They made their way to an exam room and the nurse took Alexis's vitals while asking her questions about her progress. Alucard claimed the only normal chair in the room and sprawled in it, watching the nurse with a smirking smile. The woman asked the minimum questions, casting nervous glances at the smiling vampire and then beat a hasty retreat as soon as she could. Alexis sighed and shook her head at the smirking creature of the night.

"You're incorrigible."

Alucard dipped his head in acknowledgement. That smirking smile never left his face. Deciding to ignore him for the moment, Alexis pulled out her phone and started reviewing all the things she needed to get done at the bank. Frankly, the idea of managing so much money intimidated her and the bank personnel she'd dealt with on the phone already seemed pushy. She wasn't looking forward to dealing with them in person.

Half an hour later, Dr. Cleland walked through the door, a smile on his tanned face and a twinkle in those brown-blue eyes. His expression faltered as he laid eyes on Alucard, but he rallied admirably.

"So, how's the leg?"

"Achy, but I think it's getting better."

"Well, let's have a look. Are you comfortable disrobing with your companion in the room?"

Alexis cut a look at Alucard. She hadn't thought about the fact that she pretty much had to strip from the waist down to let the doctor examine the wound.

Oh, to hell with it. It wasn't like he hadn't seen the whole show, before.

"It's fine."

Nodding, Dr. Cleland fetched a sheet form the cabinet and handed it to her with instructions to remove everything below the waist while he waited outside. She nodded and he left the room. Alucard watched her with that incorrigible smirk.

"At least do me the favor of looking away."

His grin widened but he turned his head so he faced the wall. Of course, for all she knew, he had some other means of watching her. Oh, well.

Gritting her teeth, she slid off the exam table and stripped her pants off, chanting in her head that it didn't matter what Alucard saw. He'd seen it all, before. Even with the chant, by the time she climbed back on the table and draped the sheet over her lap, she had flushed a deeply embarrassed shade of red.

"I'm ready," she called out. She expected Alucard to have another smirk on his face as he turned back toward her, but his mouth gave nothing away and she thought she could barely make out the glow of his irises behind those orange lenses.

Dr. Cleland opened the door, wrenching her attention away from the vampire. He smiled and closed the door behind him.

"If you'll just lay down on your left side, we can get started."

Alexis stretched out, carefully keeping herself covered. Dr. Cleland peeled the sheet back from her hip and looked it over. Alexis didn't bother looking, herself. She'd seen it in the mirror. Instead, she watched Alucard, wondering what his lack of expression meant.

The doctor made murmuring sounds of approval and then palpitated the edge of the wound. Alexis jerked, crying out with surprise and pain. To her shock, Alucard's lips skinned back from his fangs in a silent snarl. With his back turned, Dr. Cleland didn't notice, but Alexis saw it and something clicked in her head.

He cared. Try though he might to hide it, the damn vampire actually cared about her pain. She blinked in wonder, too mesmerized by her revelation to do more than groan at the poking and prodding from the doctor.

Alucard's head turned a fraction of an inch in her direction and his mouth snapped closed over those vicious teeth. He turned away and she knew he hadn't intended to let her see that.

"Okay, let's test your range of motion."

Alexis winced at the doctor's words. She had been dreading this part. Just like in the emergency room, he grasped her ankle and pressed against her knee, forcing her leg to flex. Alexis gasped and grabbed for the edge of the exam table, gritting her teeth against the burning pain.

Dr. Cleland eased her leg back into place.

"Have you been putting weight on it and exercising it like we discussed?"

Alexis cringed. She'd conveniently forgotten about that.

"Err…not much." She gave him a sheepish look. Dr. Cleland sighed.

"Here's the deal. You're healing well enough that I don't think physical therapy is strictly necessary, but if you don't exercise that leg as it heals and start putting weight on it, it may always be stiff and sore, especially in cold weather."

Alexis sighed. She knew she needed to follow doctor's orders, but the idea of self-inflicted torture somehow didn't appeal.

"I'll try, Dr. Cleland."

"Good. I'll get you some written instructions for what kind of exercises I need you to do and then we can follow up in a couple of weeks."

"Thank you."

By the time they left the clinic, Alexis wasn't sure she wanted to go to the bank anymore. She ached and her eyelids didn't want to stay open. Stubbornly, she eased herself into the car that Ellis brought around and asked him to take them to the bank. She had to get it done and if she got it done today, then she could rest tomorrow.

**A/N: So, yeah…Alucard getting all protective and stuff. Much fun. I've gotten some questions in reviews as to whether there will be any Alucard x Alexis action. To that, I say, that was sort of the point all along, although maybe not in the way people might expect. I don't see Alucard falling into bed with anyone he truly cares about. If his behavior with Integra shows anything, it seems like he tends to put a female that he truly cares about on an unreachable pedestal. Even Seras seemed to be in an untouchable category as his fledgling. Now, whether Alexis can get down off that pedestal without ruining her image in Alucard's eyes is the real question, now isn't it? *grin* We shall see where the characters take it. Even I'm not absolutely certain where they'll end up. Just a general idea at this point. :D**


	24. Ch 23: Old Enemies Return

**I have to say, I thought it was kind of funny that I got a review wondering if the next chapter would see some real action again or just be more of Alexis getting the house put together. Keep in mind, the chapter was already written at the time and I haven't changed what happens in the chapter, so the answer is 'yes' there is action in this chapter. I am VERY curious to know if I dragged the house stuff on too long or if I brought action back into the story just in time. I think I might have gotten it just right, but I'm so close to the story as the writer, it's hard to make a call that isn't terribly biased. *grin* Please let me know what you guys, as readers, think.**

**Chapter 23: Old Enemies Return**

Alexis jerked awake as the car came to a stop and blinked groggily. She'd taken a pain pill when they left the doctor's office. It must have kicked in during the drive to the bank.

Groaning, she sat up, wondering why it felt like she'd used a rock for a pillow. A low chuckle emanated from said pillow and she realized she'd fallen asleep against Alucard's shoulder. Well, that explained why it felt like she'd slept on a rock.

Deciding to play it cool, like she'd meant to do exactly that, Alexis opened her mouth in a wide yawn and stretched.

"We have arrived, madam," Ellis said, watching her in the rearview mirror.

"Thanks, Ellis. I don't know how long this will take. You can do whatever you like, just keep your cell phone on you."

"Of course, madam."

Alexis yawned again and opened the car door. She tugged her crutches from where they were wedged in the space between the front passenger seat and the door. By the time she got them situated, Alucard was standing outside her door, a white gloved hand stretched out to help her out. She frowned. She hadn't heard his door open and close. Surely, he wouldn't phase through solid objects with Ellis in the car, would he?

Glancing over her shoulder, she spotted the empty, bemused smile on Ellis's face as he stared straight ahead. Cursed vampire.

"Damn it, Alucard. Don't mesmerize the help unless it is absolutely necessary."

"As you command," he said with a sardonic smirk and a bow.

Shaking her head in exasperation, Alexis grabbed for his gloved hand and used it to pull herself upright. He steadied her with a hand on her shoulder and handed her the crutches. How could someone so infuriating be so sweet?

"You're a walking contradiction," she said, maneuvering around so they could shut the car door. "Let Ellis go and _don't_ plant any suggestions in his head. He doesn't deserve that.""

Alucard laughed and she could only hope that he did as she commanded. She thought he would. After all, why else would he want to be ordered about unless he intended to follow those orders? Maybe he just liked to defy people. Possible, but not something she could do anything about. Best not to worry about it. Behind them, the car shifted into gear and pulled away.

With a shrug, Alexis turned to face the building. It didn't look much like a bank. For one, there wasn't a walk up or drive-through teller on the outside. She didn't see an ATM, either. What kind of bank didn't have an ATM? The place just looked like any other office building. A brass sign above the door read 'Coutts'.

"Is this the right place?" Alexis frowned, looking over her shoulder. Maybe it was across the street.

"This is correct."

"I've never heard of them."

Alucard chuckled. "I'm not surprised. Coutts is a private bank. They specialize in wealth custodianship and won't open their doors for anyone worth less than fifty million pounds."

Alexis's jaw dropped, shock rolling through her. It was more money than she would likely have earned in her entire life…ten times over. If they didn't open their doors for less than that… No wonder he hadn't even blinked at her demands for rent when they first met. It must have been like tossing a penny to a beggar.

Alucard grinned, enjoying the look on her face. Since Integra's death, the things money could buy hadn't held much interest for him. The only reason he cared about the fortune at all was because it had been his master's. Now, he was glad he'd held onto it.

"I'm going to have to look into taking some classes," Alexis muttered as she headed for the door. "I haven't the first clue how to manage that much money."

Alucard chuckled and held the door open for her. The waiting area was paneled in cherry wood and cream with glassed-in offices along the right-hand wall and a receptionist sitting at a desk on the left. The woman lifted her head. She looked Alexis over and a small, professional smile curled her lips. The rest of her face stayed carefully neutral. Alexis took a deep breath and headed toward the receptionist.

"I need to speak to someone about starting an account," Alexis said. The woman looked her over again, her neutral expression taking on a touch of disdain. She glanced up at Alucard and the disdain grew.

"How much were you interested in investing with Coutts today, Miss…"

"Montreve. Alexis Montreve, and I think the money is already invested here. I just need to set up an account for staff to use."

The receptionist frowned, as though Alexis had not given her the response she expected. She turned to the computer monitor on her desk and typed in a search. For a split second, her finely arched eyebrows rose in surprise at the results. She recovered quickly and gave Alexis that professional smile again. This time, it seemed to reach her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Miss Montreve. We weren't aware that you would be visiting today. If you'd like to have a seat, I'll notify your financial advisor that you would like to see him." Her tone of voice had performed a total 180. Alexis found herself wanting to smirk at the girl but squelched the urge. She didn't exactly look like a member of the upper crust. She couldn't blame the woman for thinking she was in the wrong place.

"Thank-you, Miss Chambers," Alexis said, glancing at the name plaque on the desk. The receptionist nodded and Alexis hobbled toward one of the leather chairs clustered around a low table. She had barely settled herself in the chair when a door in the back wall opened and an older man with salt and pepper hair stepped out. He wore a dark blue suit with a pale blue and black striped tie. He smiled and crossed the room, holding out a hand.

"Miss Montreve, it's good to meet you."

Alexis blinked and reached up to shake his hand. He exuded charm and confidence like a physical force. She put a concerted effort into shaking his hand with a firm grip and his smile widened.

"My name is Simon Foss and I have been assigned as your financial advisor. If you'll follow me to my office, we can get started."

Nodding, Alexis pushed herself to her feet and collected her crutches. Mr. Foss waited patiently as she got everything arranged and swung herself in his direction.

She expected him to lead her toward one of the glassed-in offices, but he walked toward the door he had come out of and held it open for her.

"After your call the other day, your file was flagged for review and I took a look at it yesterday." The man led the way down a wood paneled corridor, occasionally glancing over his shoulder with a smile. "I must say, your portfolio is quite impressive. I understand you are a recent inheritor?"

Alexis glanced over her shoulder at Alucard.

"You could say that."

Mr. Foss opened a door and held it for her. The office beyond was furnished in gleaming cherry wood with signed prints on the beige walls. Alexis seated herself in a comfortable leather chair in front of the desk and Alucard sprawled in the chair next to her. Mr. Foss moved behind the desk and sat, smiling.

"First of all, I will need to establish your identity. Can I please see a picture ID?"

"Oh, sure." Alexis dug around in her purse and produced her driver's license. Mr. Foss took it and turned to the computer screen on his desk.

"Do you have a second form of ID?" he asked as he entered her data into the computer.

"Umm…" Alexis bit her lip. She did have an identity card, but it was at the apartment which she hadn't seen in almost two weeks. She didn't standardly carry it with her since most places would take the driver's license and that was enough.

"Allen of Faulkner, Allen and Associates can confirm her identity and rights to the accounts," Alucard said. He didn't look up but the words rang with authority. Mr. Foss frowned at him.

"And you are?"

"J.H. Blenner. The funds have been held in my family's name for the last forty years."

Mr. Foss frowned at his computer screen.

"You'll forgive me if I call and verify that."

"By all means." Alucard looked up, smiling.

Mr. Foss picked up the phone and Alexis glanced at the vampire. She had kind of expected him to mesmerize the man into dropping the questions. He certainly didn't seem to mind randomly mesmerizing the repair people and Ellis. What stopped him, here?

"Ah, yes. Certainly. Thank-you for that, Mr. Allen. I will let her know."

Mr. Foss hung up the phone and smiled at Alexis, holding her driver's license out to her.

"It looks like everything is in order. Mr. Allen asked me to pass along a request to you. He would like to meet with you at your earliest convenience so they can complete the transfer of ownership into your name."

"Ah…sure. I'll call them when I get home."

"Good. Now I have some paperwork for you to sign and we can discuss the amounts of credit we will be able to extend."

By the time they left Mr. Foss's office, Alexis had two more credit cards on the way, a loan of five million pounds for restoration of the house that her new fortune could pay back without a hiccup and a checkbook for a zero balance checking account. That one still puzzled her, even after Mr. Foss explained it. In her experience, having nothing in a checking account was a very, very bad thing, but apparently with this account, she was _supposed_ to spend into the negatives, and then once a month, the bank would pull money from her monthly dividends and bond coupons to zero out the balance again. Too weird, but it apparently allowed her to keep the bulk of her money in better interest bearing accounts and investments.

Yeah, she definitely had to find a class to take to help her understand all of this. It was like she'd suddenly discovered a whole new country with new laws and penalties. She needed a crash course in being rich. Who would have ever thought that could be a _problem_?

She needed a nap. Maybe some sleep would help her understand everything better.

"Let's go home, Alucard. I'm exhausted," Alexis said as she headed for the door, her head starting to ache with weariness. She had called Ellis as soon as they left Mr. Foss's office and he had said he was just around the corner.

Alexis stepped out into the sunlight, blinking as she realized it must be late afternoon. The sun was dropping toward the horizon like a stone. The black Mercedes that Ellis was driving turned the far corner. Alexis smiled, relieved that she could finally go home and relax.

From somewhere above them, a sort of hollow, coughing blast echoed down the street and the tail end of the Mercedes lifted almost six feet into the air as a cloud of fire blossomed under the back tires of the car.

"Ellis!" Alexis screamed, her heart jumping up in her throat. She wanted to rush toward the car to see if he was okay, but the best she could do was limp along on her crutches. To her surprise, Alucard's arm wrapped around her middle and pulled her back.

"Alucard! Let me go! Ellis might be hurt!"

"Ellis is not their target." The vampire slipped around in front of her, shielding her view of the burning car with his body. Alexis blinked, her already exhausted mind struggling with the implications of Alucard's statement. 'They'? Her first assumption had been that some accident caused the explosion, but Alucard obviously thought they were under attack.

Alexis swallowed hard as that concept sank in and her blood suddenly ran cold in her veins. She grasped the back of Alucard's duster and peered around him.

To her relief, Ellis seemed to be alive, if rather bruised and battered. He had gotten the car door open and staggered away from the gleaming black car with a smoking ruin for the back end. Had the fire hit the gas tank yet? Surely, it had, but the car didn't look like it had taken enough damage to justify a petrol explosion.

As if her thought had set the event off, a loud explosion rocked the street as the gas tank went up in a noxious ball of flames and smoke. Ellis went down to his knees, caught by the shock wave. Screams erupted all around them and Alexis realized with a jolt that the street wasn't empty. Easily a hundred pairs of eyes watched from street corners and doorways, more appearing behind them as people were drawn by morbid curiosity.

"If they're after us, then these people are in danger, Alucard. We have to get away from here."

A small smile curled the vampire's lips. Although Alexis didn't have the quick reaction time or military training of his last master, the two of them thought alike. Integra would have wanted to minimize the collateral damage as well.

Turning, the vampire scooped Alexis up in his arms. She yelped, scrambling to try to hold onto her crutches but they clattered to the sidewalk. With his human clutched securely in his arms, Alucard crouched and leaped, clearing three stories of building to land on the rooftop.

Alexis screeched and clutched at the vampire's duster, holding on for dear life as her crutches lay forgotten three stories below them. A low chuckle made her pull her face out of his shoulder and take in their surroundings.

"What the bloody hell?" she swore. "We're on the rooftop! Alucard! What if someone saw us?"

"No one will believe them, even if they believe their own eyes," he said, scanning the rooftops for the wielder of the shell that had destroyed Ellis's car. They were up here, somewhere.

"A hundred eye witnesses might be rather compelling," Alexis said with a sour note to her voice. Alucard grinned at her.

"Never underestimate the power of the human psyche to explain away the impossible."

Alexis narrowed her eyes at him, not at all certain she wanted to trust the psyche of so many people to ignore what they'd just seen. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about it, now. It couldn't be undone.

Alucard smirked at her, recognizing the capitulation on her face. She looked away and opened her mouth to tell him to put her down but stopped as she spotted movement on the next rooftop over. She blinked, her brain struggling to come to terms with the sheer size of the weapon aimed straight at her.

It looked like an unholy cross between a cannon and the biggest rifle ever imagined. A single eye, distinctively blue, even at this distance, peered down the length of the barrel at her. The cannon-rifle thing coughed and suddenly, the world around her spun as Alucard dodged the mortar. It flew past them to explode against the building behind them, ripping a hole in the brick exterior and exposing the steel beam skeleton of the building beneath.

"If you manage to harm her, Seras, I will console myself with your suffering for the next century." Alucard spoke with utter calm even as Alexis's brain was still trying to catch up with the fact that someone was shooting _mortars_ at them and Alucard had managed to _dodge_ it.

"No doubt, you would enjoy that, but your new toy will still be gone," cried a young, female voice. Alexis turned, searching for the blue eye she'd spotted. Had Alucard called their adversary by name?

"You know her?"

He didn't even glance down, keeping an eye on the blond-haired, blue-eyed vampire he had created almost a century ago.

"I made her what she is, once upon a time, but the vampire that stands before us, now, is not the one I knew."

"Is she the 'master' all of those other vampires have been talking about?"

A high pitched giggle erupted from the female vampire. Alexis shivered. Even she could hear the madness tainting that sound.

"You are not the one behind these attacks," Alucard said, pitching his voice so it was obvious whom his words were directed at. The blond with the cannon grinned, baring fangs.

"Of course not," she called out and Alexis suspected that Seras spoke so loudly to make sure Alexis could hear everything she said. "I'm not stupid enough to believe you actually _care_ for anyone, but my new master believes you do and I owe it to her to do her bidding. At the least, I can deprive you of your new distraction."

"You idiot. You must know you can't defeat me. I will destroy you."

Seras shrugged.

"Yes, I know." That girlish voice had lost its tinge of laughter. "What does it matter? You took everything I cared for. The least I can do is take something away from you before I go."

A low, bitter laugh rumbled up out of Alucard's chest. Alexis glanced at him in surprise. She'd never heard such a pain-filled sound from him.

"So, it has come full circle. Did you take lessons from Walter, police girl? Did you always plan this betrayal? Did you engineer the accident that took our master from us as well?"

"You bloody wanker!" The muzzle of the cannon moved a few centimeters as Seras shifted, her blue eyes slit and glaring rage at her old master. "_You're_ the one that took her from us! If you'd just listened to me, she'd be with us, today. She would have understood! Walter would never have betrayed Hellsing if not for his desire to kill _you_. Half of London would never have been destroyed if not for you! Millennium came for you! Pip would have lived if you had never existed!"

Brilliant red tears spilled down Seras's cheeks. Alexis had no idea what half of her accusations meant, but she couldn't miss the history between these two and it wasn't pretty or comfortable.

"You really are an imbecile," Alucard said with a sigh. "I suppose I should have let you die that day in Cheddar. Then, you would never have to suffer these regrets."

"I'm surprised you didn't. After all, it was your bullet that put me on my death bed!"

Alucard laughed and the sound was more than half snarl.

"And I suppose you would have preferred the rape and ghouling that awaited you. Only my intent to turn you allowed me to bypass the Hellsing seal and give you a chance at a cleaner death. I could have simply called the priest's bluff and destroyed him after he killed you. _You_ chose immortality, police girl. These regrets are unbecoming of a night walker, Seras."

"Regret? What do you know of regret? You wouldn't know it if it bit you in the arse!"

"Regret is for the defeated," Alucard said and the blond vampire snarled, a vicious, pain-filled sound.

Alexis turned away from the incensed rage in Seras's eyes. She couldn't draw a conclusion on the argument. She only had bits and pieces of the story. Instead, she buried her face in Alucard's shoulder and peered behind them.

Her heart leaped in her chest as she spotted the figure trying to sneak up behind them. It paused, seeing her eyes land on it. Alexis's grip on Alucard's shoulders tightened and she shook her head. It wasn't possible. He couldn't be! And yet…there he was.

Finny's normally pink skin had turned a pale, chalky white with the shadows of washed out freckles spattered across his nose. His eyes glinted a stormy gray-green with tinges of red at the edges. He grinned, far too close for comfort. The smile that had been crooked before looked like it had undergone the best orthodontia that money could buy…if you got really pointy veneers with it.

"You cannot convince me that _you_ were a virgin!" It was the first thing that came to her mind and she felt Alucard freeze, the bitter argument with his old fledgling dropping into silence. His head turned, glancing over his shoulder at the new threat behind them. Finny grinned, flashing fang.

Alucard's grip on Alexis tightened and he strode across the rooftop toward Seras. Alexis wasn't sure which was worse, the blond vampire with the cannon or the…thing coming up behind them.

"Don't," Seras said in a warning tone and Alucard slowed. "I may not be able to kill you with the Harkonnen, but _she_ won't survive an exploding shell."

"He's a FREAK, isn't he, Seras? Doc is dead. You and Integra confirmed that. Where did you get the technology?"

"Our master has her ways," Seras said, her voice thick with gloating. "She likes some of Millennium's ideas. They really aren't bad, when they're used for the proper goals."

"You are as blind as the day you were born," Alucard snarled, disgust dripping from his words. 'I recognize Stratonice's work and you are a fool if you believe she works for anyone's benefit but her own. Created, _fake_ vampires are nothing but a weapon of war and you know it."

"Fake? Ha!" Finny laughed behind them, an unholy joy suffusing his face. "I drink blood, toss cars around like they're toys and live forever. Just. Like. You."

Alucard laughed and turned to face the FREAK vampire. Alexis flinched at the view of the cannon muzzle trained on them and the angry blue eye behind the sights.

"You are dog shit. You _still_ don't understand what it is you contend with. If Stratonice wants a war, I am _thrilled_ to oblige, but two mangy mongrels do not constitute an army."

Finny snarled at the insult and Alucard whirled, dashing toward Seras with Alexis clutched close to his chest. The vampire pulled the trigger on her massive weapon and Alucard leaped high in the air. The 30mm shell slammed into Finny, exploding on contact and ending his immortality in a shower of blood, flesh and slivers of bone.

Alucard landed on Seras's rooftop but she was already moving, racing across the buildings. Her left arm seemed to dissolve into shadow and she disappeared over the edge of a building.

"Did she fall?" Alexis asked, frowning after the fleeing vampire.

"Only with purpose," Alucard said, staring after his erstwhile fledgling. Alexis tightened her arms around the vampire's shoulders. He'd carried her in his arms through the whole ordeal, and terrifying through it had been, she felt safe curled against his chest.

"If she's gone, we need to check on Ellis," She said, resting her head against his shoulder, "and I want to know who this 'Strato-nike' person is."

**A/N: Just a quick notation…the name 'Stratonice' is pronounced with a hard 'c', like a 'k' and the 'e' is not silent. Essentially, the last four letters are pronounced like the shoe company, Nike. It IS a real name and it was spelled that way when it was in use. More about her will be explained in the next chapter so I'm not going to go into more detail than that. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew how to pronounce the name because it drives me crazy when I read a book with a name that I'm not sure how to pronounce. Heh.**


	25. Ch 24: Ambrosian

**So…I've got some people that are rather upset about what I've done with Seras's character. I would say I'm sorry, but I'm really not. I think, under the circumstances, Seras is perfectly capable of the actions I've described.**

**Think about it. Every single thing she accused Alucard of is true…strictly speaking. She loved him and Integra both, deeply, although I think she probably loved Integra more. She knew Alucard for roughly a year before he disappeared for three decades. She's served Integra much, much longer than she's known Alucard…and Alucard let Integra die when he could have saved her. (After all, she and Alucard are vampires, so there's nothing really wrong with being a vampire to her mind.) Then, he cruelly drove Seras away from the only support system she'd had since becoming a vampire. Suddenly, she has to hunt for herself, which probably resulted in at least a few accidental deaths, and she no longer has access to her native Earth to sleep in. To her eyes, Alucard has betrayed her and nothing turns to hate faster than love betrayed.**

**In the manga, Seras proved she is fully capable of hatred and vengeance. Look at what she did to Zorin for killing Pip. It just so happens that in the current conflict, she is on the other side of the battlefield from her old master. From her perspective, her actions are righteous and just. From Alucard's perspective, **_**his**_** actions are righteous and just. Who is right and who is wrong? It really depends on the perspective. I just happen to be telling the story from Alucard's side of the lines.**

**At least Seras has good reason for what she's doing. I spent the last few chapters of Hellsing railing that Walter couldn't possibly betray Integra…but he did. The fact that I liked the character did not mean he couldn't turn on the good guys.**

**That being said, I don't expect anyone to keep reading if you don't like where I'm taking the story. I am sad to lose you as a reader if that's what happens, but each person is entitled to their own opinion and one opinion is not more correct than the next. It's all just a matter of perspective. :)**

**Now, back to your regularly scheduled story update. *grin***

**Wow…long chapter for me. So, this is the one you've all been waiting for since the moment Alexis first got bitten. *grin* I hope you all enjoy.**

**Chapter 24: Ambrosian**

By the time they got down off the roof, unobserved at Alexis's insistence, police and an ambulance had arrived. Ellis was awake but in considerable pain. The EMTs packed him onto a stretcher as Alucard helped Alexis collect her crutches from the ground and hobble over to him.

"Call the agency," Ellis said, visibly fighting off pain. "They need to know I've been injured and they can send another car and driver around for you."

Alexis rolled her eyes at him.

"I think I can take a taxi," she said, "but I'll call and let them know what happened to you. _You_ be sure to call me and keep me updated on where you are and how you're doing."

"Yes, madam."

The EMTs then politely pushed her aside and bundled Ellis up into the back of the ambulance. It pulled away, blaring its siren as it went.

"I think I need someone more than human for an estate manager, Alucard." Alexis watched the ambulance turn a corner, fully aware that Ellis was injured due to his association with her. "I seem to be a walking magnet for disaster these days."

Alucard didn't respond as police approached them with questions about the incident. Too tired to come up with a good cover story, Alexis just told them she had no idea what had happened or why, only that the car had blown up. With a little help from Alucard, they accepted the story and she was able to call a taxi while the police dealt with the wreckage of the car.

The drive home found her slumped against Alucard's shoulder, dozing and drooling on his duster. It was funny how leaning on him had become so comfortable. Perhaps more surprising…he allowed it. She hadn't missed his comment to Seras that if anything happened to Alexis, he would console himself with Seras's suffering for a hundred years. Seras might not believe Alucard could care about anyone, but Alexis was beginning to think he was fully capable of it. Even better, it was becoming more and more apparent that he cared about _her_.

The question was, would he ever admit to it?

Alexis sighed as Alucard shifted beside her, his arm coming down to curl protectively around her shoulders. No, maybe that question didn't matter. After all, words meant nothing compared to action. They were just pretty wrapping that could hide anything from gold to dung. She'd rather have the truth of action than the deceit of flowery words. Once upon a time, Jared and Joey had told her they loved her, simply because that was what she expected to hear. Just saying it didn't make it true.

The taxi delivered them to the front doorstep of the Hellsing mansion without incident. Alexis swung herself up the front steps and pulled the key out of her pocket to unlock the door.

"Come with me to the kitchen. I need food and a pain pill while we talk about this Stratonice person."

"As you command."

Alucard sat at a table in the vast kitchen while Alexis hobbled about, preparing herself a meal from the supplies Ellis had bought. She took a moment to call the staffing agency and let them know what had happened to him and their car. They promised to keep her updated.

With a sigh of relief, Alexis sat down and pulled the pain pills out of her purse. It was technically too soon for another one, but she really didn't care. She wanted the sleep it would bring. Setting the bottle on the table next to her drink, she pulled her plate in front of her and bit into her sandwich, followed by a potato chip.

"So. Tell me about Stratonice," she said, swallowing the potato chip and reaching for the pill bottle to twist the lid off. "Obviously, she's the one you've suspected since I was bitten and…was it Seras?" Alucard nodded. Alexis popped a pill in her mouth and washed it down with a swallow of water. "Well, she pretty much confirmed that you're tight. So, enlighten me. What are we up against?"

Alucard leaned back in his chair, watching her close the pill bottle and take another bite of sandwich.

"She is a vampire I knew in my earliest years of undeath. She taught me how to survive as a vampire in a world full of humans that believed in the supernatural."

"So…she turned you into a vampire?"

Alucard laughed, an explosive, bitter sound.

"No. I was reborn in anger and hatred, the same as she. She simply taught me what I needed to know in order to live as the undead."

"So…like your mentor."

"Of a sort, yes."

Alexis took another bite, chewed and swallowed.

"So, what happened? So far, it doesn't sound like the makings of a bitter enemy."

The vampire laughed and grinned with that manic glint in his eyes.

"I have been accused of madness many times in my existence. Compared to Stratonice, I am the epitome of sanity. Were it left to her, vampires would rule the world and humans would be little more than cattle for the culling…or more likely, extinct. She places no value on human life, not even that of the sustenance every vampire requires. She is a rabid dog."

Alexis popped a potato chip in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

"So, if she's so interested in destroying humanity, why is she spending all her resources coming after you?"

Alucard grinned.

"I disagreed with her philosophical outlook. We…argued and when we could not come to an agreement, I buried her in a mountain in Romania. That was in 1609. So far as I knew, she was still there. Obviously, she found a way to escape."

"Ah. That certainly explains why she hates you so much."

Alucard chuckled as Alexis took the last bite of her sandwich.

"She is a thousand years older than me. In life, she was the mother of Alexander the Great and led his armies after his death. She doesn't take defeat well, and betrayal less so."

Alexis blinked at him.

"Alexander the Great's mom is a vampire?" Alucard grinned and she shook her head. There was something intrinsically wrong with that statement…and yet, why not? Alucard had been a Wallachian ruler once upon a time. "Nevermind. Back on track. What else do I need to know about her?"

"She has an affinity for snakes and can control them. It is one of her undead powers."

"And _that_ would explain how a puff adder ended up in London."

"And a black mamba. That was the snake that struck at you, first. She has a particular fondness for African snakes."

"I guess everyone needs a hobby." Alexis finished off the last of her potato chips and sat back in her chair. "So, what do we do about it? I don't see her giving up anytime soon."

"For now, we wait. I've never seen her lift a finger to do anything she considered menial when she could send a minion to do it in her stead. Eventually, she will run out of minions. In the mean time, I will be staying close to you. I had not bartered on Seras's involvement."

"Why is that a big deal?"

Alucard quirked a smile at her.

"Seras lived in this house at one time and called it home. The vampiric restrictions from entering a stranger's abode will not hold her back."

"Fantastic," Alexis said with a sigh. Well, at least now she knew what was coming.

-ssSSss-

Alexis blinked, staring into the complete darkness of the basement room. Something had woken her, but she wasn't sure what. She shifted and groaned as pain radiated out from her hip. What time was it? It didn't feel like she had been asleep for long.

Blundering in the dark, she groped for the phone she had left on the table Alucard had brought down to place next to her bed. Her hand brushed over the top of the table and the phone clattered to the stone floor.

Cursing, Alexis scooted to the edge of the bed and reached down to grope along the floor until she came up with the device. Pressing the button to activate the screen, she frowned at the phone. It was just after two in the morning. Definitely time for another pain pill, but she really wished she hadn't woken up. Her eyes felt gritty and her mouth tasted like cotton. Well, at least taking a pain pill meant getting some water.

Gritting her teeth through the pain, she pushed herself into a sitting position and eased her legs off the bed.

"Alucard?" She fumbled for her crutches in the dark as she waited for him to respond. No answer.

Alexis frowned. At two o'clock in the morning, the vampire should be wide awake. She rarely failed to get a response from him during his normal waking hours. Her stomach churned a little as she tried to figure out why he might not answer. She could only conclude he'd left the house…but why, when he said he'd stay close by?

A sharp pain stabbed through her hip and she decided to worry about it after taking the pain pill and getting something to drink. And a bathroom. She needed a bathroom.

Easing herself out of bed, she carefully took herself out of the room and up the stairs. By now, she knew where the bathrooms were and made a beeline for the closest one.

After satisfying her bladder, she made for the kitchen. Water and a banana gave her enough volume in her stomach to warrant swallowing a pill. Alucard still hadn't shown up and that worried her. She closed the lid of her pill bottle and set it on the counter, biting her lip in thought. She could stay up and wait for him, but as soon as that pill kicked in, she was probably going to be sleepy and scattered. If she didn't get back downstairs before that happened, she might hurt herself trying to navigate the steps.

With a long-suffering sigh, Alexis left the kitchen. As the door shut behind her, she heard the creak of the great front door opening. She froze, frowning. The distant murmur of voices wafted down the corridor and Alexis scuttled back into the kitchen. She put her back to the door and glanced frantically around the room. Where the hell was Alucard? She couldn't remember if she had locked the door before going to sleep or not. Was it Seras out there? Had she brought friends?

Reaching behind her, she felt for a lock and cursed under her breath as she realized the kitchen door didn't have one. Why should it?

A weapon. She needed a weapon. There were plenty of pots and pans, but she couldn't figure out how to use them and her crutches at the same time. In point of fact, she couldn't think of any weapon she could use with her crutches except her cross. That would only work on vampires, and not all of those. What if Seras shared Alucard's resistance to holy objects?

Biting her lip, she spotted an old rolling pin hanging from a hook on the wall. Yes, it was horribly clichéd, but a rolling pin made a passable club and she could carry it under her chin.

Trying to stay as quiet as possible, she swung herself across the kitchen to fetch the implement. Tucking it against her collar bones, she headed for the corner. Wedging herself there, she braced her crutches so she wouldn't have to hold onto them and held the rolling pin clutched in both hands. It wasn't the most defensible position, but it would have to do. She waited in tense silence, adrenaline rushing through her veins.

She expected a door to open, to warn her that her adversary had found her. When a head sporting a red fedora and orange tinted sunglasses appeared through the wall next to her, she jumped with an undignified squeak and swung at it. A white-gloved hand caught the rolling pin in mid-swing.

"Such a violent greeting."

"Alucard!" Alexis tugged the rolling pin from his grasp, swaying as the movement jarred her braced crutches. She glared at him to cover up her embarrassment at almost clocking him upside the head. Not that it would have hurt him, but that wasn't the point. She almost wished she _had_ hit him. He deserved it for frightening her, but he would probably just laugh at her if she managed it. "Get in here! There's someone in the house!"

She grabbed for his duster and he phased the rest of the way through the wall, that infuriating grin growing wider.

"I know. I brought them to meet you. I have hopes that they can help us unravel the mystery of your persistent humanity."

Alexis blinked at him, caught up in a maelstrom of relief that it wasn't the enemy invading followed by rage that he hadn't told her, letting her think they had enemies in the house. Baring her teeth, she threw the rolling pin at him. He caught it with ease.

"_Warn_ me, next time!" she snarled, reaching down to grip the handles on her crutches. Getting her balance, she pushed herself forward, bumping him with her shoulder as she swung past him, headed for the door.

Alucard watched her go, his grin growing positively proprietary before he turned to phase back through the wall. Nothing amused him as much as infuriating his human.

-ssSSss-

Two people waited for them in the foyer, one a wizened old woman, hunched with age. The other was a stocky man standing off to the side with his arms crossed over his chest. With the exception of the sprightly twinkle in the old woman's eyes, nothing about the pair would have made them stand out on the street. The man wore black slacks and a charcoal gray button-down shirt. His dark hair was slicked back from his face and curled into ringlets just under his ears. He sported a mustache and goatee with a generous helping of silvery white hairs interspersed with the black. He looked to be in his late thirties or early forties, although the silver in his goatee made Alexis add a decade to that estimate.

The woman wore a black skirt that fell in ruffles to her ankles and a dark plum jumper. She had a gray and plum plaid shawl wrapped about her shoulders and neck. Her face crinkled with wrinkles born of a life full of sun and smiles. Her steely gray hair fell down her back in a thick French braid.

"Is this the one you spoke of, Lord blood drinker?" she asked, her eyes roaming over Alexis's form. She glanced in Alucard's direction, but wouldn't raise her gaze to the vicinity of his eyes. She didn't seem frightened, just cheerfully cautious.

"Indeed, old mother." Alucard dipped his head in a truncated bow and moved off to the side, politely putting the table that had held the dusty flower arrangement between himself and their guests. Alexis gaped at him for a moment. She'd never seen him act so…considerate toward anyone upon first meeting them. Was it because they were Romani, or was it because they might have knowledge he wanted? It didn't take a genius to figure out that he'd found the legend keepers he had been looking for.

The wizened little old woman smiled at Alexis with yellow, crooked teeth. She came around the table and circled the younger woman, looking her up and down. Her guard stood off to the side, watching everything with dark, hooded eyes.

The crone stepped close to Alexis and reached out to grasp her arm, squeezing the muscle beneath the shirt she wore. Alexis glanced up at Alucard, wondering if she should be concerned about the woman's proximity and apparent interest in the plumpness of her flesh. The vampire leaned against the banister of the grand front staircase, one foot braced against the wood, a knee sticking out of the folds of his duster. His arms were crossed over his chest and those infernal sunglasses hid his eyes from her.

"You dream of him, don't you?" Alexis jumped and brought her attention back to the old woman gripping her arm. She flushed as she realized that for just a moment, she'd forgotten there was anyone else in the room but her and Alucard.

"Not like that," she said and the blush flared brighter. She didn't want to admit that the vampire had starred in her dreams at all. His ego didn't need the boost, and it wasn't like they were _those_ kinds of dreams. Why did she suddenly feel like everyone in the room had just caught her half naked? "Really…I mean, yes. I dream about him, but not like _that_. I dream that he attacks me, feeds on me."

The old woman's grin grew wider, a knowing twinkle shining in her eyes. Alexis scowled at her, not at all happy with the conclusion the woman seemed to be coming to.

"You crave it. You want him to feed on you, yes? In your dreams, you do not flee from him. You yearn for that feel of his fangs in your throat."

Alexis looked away, unable to meet that knowing, penetrating look. She braced herself with the crutches and wrapped her arms around herself. She did _not_ like this line of questioning.

"Yes," she said in a soft voice, "and not just in my dreams."

She cut a glance at Alucard, expecting to find a self-satisfied smirk on his face, but the flat line of his lips gave nothing away. The old woman glanced between them and chuckled, continuing her examination.

"You've been bitten and become neither ghoul nor vampire, yes? Oh, this is a golden day. No one has seen one such as you since my granddam's age."

The old woman pressed her hands together, her eyes shining with excitement. Alexis felt her eyes grow wide. Until that moment, she hadn't really believed they could help. What could the Romani know that an actual vampire didn't? She looked over at Alucard where he still lounged against the banister. He hadn't moved, but he seemed to exude an anticipatory tension. Alexis turned back to the old woman.

"You…you know what I am? Why I'm like…this?" She couldn't help the breathy excitement that flavored her voice. The puzzle had simmered in the back of her subconscious for weeks, making her wonder what was wrong with her.

"Of course, my dear. You're an Ambrosian."

A…what?

Alexis frowned, still as confused as ever. She cast a puzzled look in Alucard's direction and saw him shift, his head tilting to the side as though the word stuck some chord in his memory.

"Tell us the story, old mother. Assume we are children with no knowledge of this 'Ambrosian'," he said, his deep voice ringing with command.

The woman gave Alucard a respectful bow of obeisance, still carefully avoiding eye contact. She took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"Human, but not. There are many stories to explain where the Ambrosians came from, but none of them can agree. Ambrosians are born of humans and will breed humans of their own loins. Some think they are simply special humans and some think they are not human at all. They remain human in nature so long as they never know the touch of a vampire's fangs. It is that first bite that awakens the Ambrosian in their blood."

Alucard shifted again, frowning in thought, as though the story stirred his memories further, touching something buried deep in his past. Alexis still didn't understand what it meant to be one of these 'Ambrosians' and she struggled with what the woman was telling them.

"Some stories describe the Ambrosian nature as a gift from God, a blessing on the vampires to compensate for the loss of their humanity. Others say it is a curse laid by the first vampire in an attempt to make the humans bow to the dark race. There are so many stories, but is it truly stories that you seek? I think not. Theories shrouded in mystery will not help you. Facts are what you need."

The woman reached out to take Alexis's hand and gave her a solemn look.

"You're cursed, dear…and blessed. Your blood is like the food of the gods for a vampire…ambrosia. Its taste is the sweetest nectar. It satisfies the blood craving like a feast set before a king. It strengthens, opens pathways for newer and greater powers. The blood drinkers covet one such as you."

"Really?" Alexis smiled tremulously. She rather liked the sound of that. After everything Alucard had given her, she had something of value to give back to him.

"Yes, but beware," the old woman warned her. "Bloody battles have been fought over the right to possess an Ambrosian. Helen of Troy was one such, and the kings that fought over her were ancient vampires. The legends forget that part, eh?"

Alexis's smile faded with that tidbit. What would it be like to be the rope in a tug of war between two incredibly powerful, ageless beings? She shivered at the sudden visual of a rope, shattered and unraveling.

The old crone smiled and patted her hand as though she found the whole predicament highly amusing. Alucard pushed away from the banister he'd been leaning against and reached up to pull the orange tinted glasses off his nose. He gave Alexis a penetrating, speculative look and her stomach flip flopped. What did _he_ think of this revelation?

"What's important to _you_, dear, is that you need the vampires, now. Well…you need _a_ vampire. More than one often ends in ruin. They're rather possessive, aren't they?" The crone smiled over her shoulder at Alucard. Alexis frowned, trying to wrap her mind around what the woman's words implied.

"What does it mean, exactly, that I _need_ them?"

The old woman turned back to her, and while she still smiled, it looked sad.

"Once bitten, you must _be_ bitten. You are their food, now. If you don't bare your throat for them, you will die. Pay attention to your dreams. They will tell you when you need your vampire."

Alexis opened her mouth, but nothing came out. What could she say? It explained so much…the dreams, her immunity to ghouling, the gut-deep, wrenching _need_ to have Alucard sink fangs into her throat. It all made sense, now…in a shiver-inducing, world-flipping sort of way. Having the answer came as a vast relief, but to know that her very existence depended on the whims of a vampire…

She turned to look at the vampire in question and the intensity in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine. Then again, maybe she wouldn't have to depend on a whim at all. If the old woman spoke the truth, her blood was very valuable to the vampires. Alucard had already saved her life many times over. He'd killed for her, guarded her and granted her access to a house and funds that guaranteed she would never have to work again if she didn't want to. He'd done all of that _before_ he know how valuable she could be to him.

Somehow, it seemed perfectly fitting that he should be the one to get her blood. Smiling at her vampire, she turned back to the two Romani.

"Thank you…err…I didn't get your name."

"You can call me Gran, dear. Everyone does. I want to give you one last warning. If all of the stories are true, you must guard your blood very closely. It is bad enough for another vampire to know what you are and understand what it means. If they happen to _taste_ your blood…well…let us hope that your vampire, here, has the power to defeat them."

Alexis arched an eyebrow at Alucard and he grinned, his eyes sparkling. If she had learned anything from Van Helsing's journals, it was that Alucard loved a good fight. Still, it could be possible that there were vampires out that that could best the mighty Dracula. Once again, the image of the broken and frayed tug o' war rope flashed through her mind.

"I won't forget," she said with a solemn nod. "Uh…I think some of the rooms have been cleaned and prepared for guests if you need a place to stay for the rest of the night."

"That won't be necessary, dear. We came at your Lord's request and it is time we were leaving." The old woman turned toward Alucard, and though she looked in his direction, she still wouldn't meet his eyes. "Lord blood drinker, I would offer you this final piece of news. We have heard rumors out of Romania of a great evil that has awakened. If she is whom the legends speak of, I believe she will be seeking you out."

Alucard's face twisted into a sadistic grin, fangs bared.

"I know of whom you speak and I await her challenge eagerly. If she learns you have tried to warn me, she will kill you." Alexis frowned, realizing they must be talking about Stratonice. She thought about how Alucard had compared her to a rabid dog and she shuddered.

"Ah, you are perhaps correct. I have lived a long, rich life and would not weep to see it end. As for Mihai, he has already sworn his life to pay for the wrongs he had committed. If death seeks us, we will invite him to tea."

"Please stay," Alexis said, "at least until dawn. I don't like the idea of you going to your death if that's what waits for you."

The old woman smiled and reached out to take Alexis's hands in her own. She pulled the younger woman down to plant a kiss on each cheek.

"Your concern is appreciated, but if death does wait for us, the dawn will not stay his hand. Besides, it's bad luck for a Romani to sleep under the same roof as a vampire, don't you know?"

Alexis didn't like it, but she couldn't force them to stay. Well, she could have Alucard imprison them, but that would be beyond ungrateful for the help they had provided.

"Do not fret, child. This is a golden day! I have seen a living, breathing legend with my own eyes. If I must die, it will be with a full heart."

Alexis had no idea what to say to that, except to wish the pair of them God speed and a safe journey back to where they had come from. Gran turned and said something in a language Alexis didn't recognize. Her guard nodded and opened the front door for her. With nothing more to say, they left, headed for a worn van sitting in the front drive.

Alexis closed the door behind the Romani and turned to lean against it. Alucard watched her from his position beside the stairs, his eyes glowing with that same fierce light she'd seen when he fed on her, before.

"So, I guess we know, now," she said, giving him a weak smile.

"Indeed, we do."

He pushed away from the stairs, striding around the table between them. He stopped in front of her, those glowing eyes boring into her. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, have him pick her up and tell her that he would protect her from all comers, but that wasn't how things worked between them. She took a deep breath, staring up into his eyes, her heart aching with all the things she wanted from him and wasn't sure he was willing to give.

"Oh, to hell with it," she muttered. Letting her crutches fall to the ground, she leaned into him, sliding her hands up under his duster and squeezing him tight, her face pressed to his chest.

Alucard stiffened, shocked at the feel of her arms wrapped around him. He didn't do gentle or tender. Violent, yes. Conniving, most certainly. Mocking, every chance he got, but he didn't do…this. And yet…well…

Gradually, the vampire's shoulders relaxed and he looked down at the human that had apparently claimed him as much as he had claimed her. His arms came up, curling about her shoulders and he thought that maybe, just maybe, he had finally found a woman to touch his heart that was meant to be his.

**A/N: D'aww. Sweet moment between Alucard and Alexis. Not likely to last long, but there you go. *grin* Hope everyone enjoyed it and if I actually finish this fanfic this week like I'm hoping, I'll probably speed up my posting to twice a week until everything is up. (Let's just say I'm working on Chapter 32 and barring any wild plot bunnies, it will be a total of 33 chapters.) Thank you for reading.**


	26. Ch 25: Death Comes Calling

**Wow, 15 reviews. That's the most I've gotten, yet. A couple of you were anonymous reviews, so I wanted to say thank you for dropping me a comment, here. I really love my reviews, even when they're not so nice. They do make me think. Love you all!**

**Chapter 25: Death Comes Calling**

The wizened old woman with the steely silver French braid watched the night time scenery flash by as her bodyguard drove them out of London. She had the old van's window down and inhaled deeply of the cool night air. It grew chillier as they left the glowing lights of the vast metropolis behind them. She reached up to feel the wind on her fingertips and gazed up at the cloud studded sky.

"I don't like it," Mihai growled next to her as he glared at the concrete revealed by the van's yellow headlights.

"You've made your displeasure known, _chavi_," Gran said, refusing to even look in his direction. Mihai had argued vehemently against answering the vampire's summons, but Gran had insisted on honoring the old ways. She hadn't contradicted him when he pointed out it could mean their deaths. She'd known that from the moment that they got the message. What Mihai didn't realize was that refusing to answer the summons could mean the death of the clan. Anyone that knew the stories knew the risk.

"We should never have come, Gran. I can feel the eyes on us."

"Calm yourself, _chavi_. It is best to meet death with a clear heart."

Mihai growled under his breath. He would prefer to leave such a meeting for another day, or better yet, another decade, but he had sworn his life to recover his Romanipen. He would stay by Gran's side until the end and she knew it. She couldn't release him from his obligation if she wanted to.

With a sigh, the old woman glanced back to the shadows lining the road. The moon broke through the thin layer of clouds, illuminating the countryside in faint, watery light. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to find a horde of flapping bats outlined against the glow of the distant city lights. Her hand tightened on the door as they wheeled, angling in toward the van. What bat could match the speed of a moving vehicle, even one as old and decrepit as their van?

A thousand red eyes opened, glowing like a swarm of hellish will o' the wisps. The van swayed a bit as Mihai caught sight of them.

"Merde!" For once, Gran didn't reprimand him for the _gadjo_ vulgarity he had picked up during his time in France. "It's an army!"

"It is," Gran agreed, struggling to keep her voice from trembling. "I only hope the Lord Tsepish is prepared."

The bats descended on them and Mihai jerked on the steering wheel with a panicked shout. The van swerved, veering off the road onto the verge. The steel frame squealed and rattled as it lumbered over the uneven ground and came to a sudden stop as the front end crashed into a thick hedge.

Gran released her grip on the door as the engine died and steam poured from under the hood. Mihai dove for the back of the van, scrambling for the various lead pipes, lengths of rebar and crowbars that he kept back there since Gran wouldn't let him carry a firearm.

"Those will not help, _chavi_. They are vampires and you have no silver."

"No, but I had a crowbar blessed before we came."

Gran sighed. They boy meant well, but he had no understanding of the value of words, especially against beings that could rip his head off and play volleyball with it. He answered every threat with violence.

"Stay here, _chavi_. I will see if I can negotiate." Gran released the latch on the van door and pushed it open against the incline of the road's verge.

"No, Gran! Wait!" Mihai lunged for her but she had already slipped out of her seat. Cursing in Romani, he grabbed the blessed crowbar he had found and threw himself at the back doors of the van. He burst through them, crowbar held at the ready and came face to face with a sea of pale, red-eyed faces.

The Romani man stumbled to a halt, the blessed crowbar falling from limp, nerveless fingers. It thunked on the ground and he fell to his knees, mouth hanging open in terrified wonder.

"Let him go and I will tell you everything you want to know." Gran came up from the side of the van, gingerly picking her way over the uneven ground. A murmur started up among the crowd of creatures. They cleared a path and Mihai felt ill as he realized that the crowd extended across the road and up and down its length as far as his vision would reach. An army, indeed.

A woman stepped out of the crowd, her high cheek bones and arched Roman nose picked out by the van's headlights reflected back from the hedge. She stared imperiously down her nose at the two Romani, a faint red glow deep in her dark eyes.

"You are human," the vampire said in a deep, sultry voice. Mihai felt a stirring in his loins at the timbre of that voice, never mind the hundreds of glowing red eyes staring hungrily at him. The woman looked down as though she could smell his response and her finely formed lips pulled back in a disdainful sneer. "Humans do not know their own minds. I can only glean a fraction of your knowledge, even if you sing like the proverbial songbird."

She turned back toward the old woman, the sneer morphing into a sly smile. She stepped forward, closing the distance between them with a seductive, swaying walk. Gran blinked, unaffected by the display, but Mihai felt a further stirring in his nether regions and hated his body's response.

"I have a better idea," the woman said, reaching up to trace a long, elegant finger down Gran's wrinkle-marked face. The old woman swayed toward her, features growing slack and blank.

"Gran! Wake up!" The anguish in Mihai's voice rang out into the silent night and the vampiric woman glanced at him with a sly, triumphant smile.

"Hold him. He interests me."

Vampires swarmed forward, cold hands grasping Mihai's arms, shoulders and sides, dead fingers tangling in his dark hair. He gasped out a broken sob of despair and only gave a token attempt at breaking free. From the moment they'd swerved off the road, all hope was lost. Mihai accepted the blame for that and only hoped his soul would be spared the fires of Hell for failing in his task to protect the venerable clan elder woman.

Satisfied that the man was under control, the vampire turned back to the old woman. She smiled, baring an impressive row of lethally pointed teeth, crowned by a pair of long, slender fangs. Gran stared vaguely over the vampire's shoulder, a serene smile curving her lips.

The vampire leaned forward and delicately sank fangs into that frail, wrinkled throat. Mihai convulsed, trying to break free of the hands that held him. He knew he had no hope of succeeding, but he had to try. It wasn't in him to simply give up. The cold hands holding him down tightened, digging cruelly into his flesh.

Soft sucking sounds came from the feeding vampire and Mihai gagged, wishing he could cover his ears. Bad enough he couldn't stop it from happening, but to be forced to watch…

The vampire's long, curly black hair moved as though caught in a breeze. It writhed and lengthened, taking on a life of its own. Threads of darkness, like spun tar snaked out, wrapping around Gran's frail body. They tightened around her like lengths of piano wire, cutting into her flesh and spilling rivulets of her blood from a hundred, a thousand wounds until her hair and clothing all ran red. Mihai convulsed, pitching forward to expel the contents of his stomach onto the cold, uncaring concrete. Tears squeezed out from between his eyelids as the darkness of the tendrils spread out, absorbing Gran's spilled blood and consuming the body. The darkness writhed in a vaguely humanoid shape and then pulled back to reveal the female vampire, licking her lips with an impossibly long tongue. Her slitted eyes glowed a deep, vibrant red. Mihai looked up at her, tears of grief spilling down his cheeks.

"He has found an Ambrosian." The vampire breathed the words with a sort of hate-filled reverence. Mihai shuddered, wondering whom he pitied more, the Ambrosian or the No-Life King that claimed her.

-ssSSss-

Alexis sighed and pulled back from the embrace, looking up into Alucard's face. She couldn't read the expression there. It wasn't the tenderness she might have expected from a considerate boyfriend, but it wasn't the conniving expectation she recalled getting from Joey and Jared after an unexpected hug. She wished that, for one moment, she could get into Alucard's head and see what was going on there. Unfortunately, she had to settle for the next best thing.

"What are you thinking?"

Alucard lifted one eyebrow and a smirk curled his lips.

"That your medication has probably begun affecting you and you need to go back to bed."

Alexis drooped. She couldn't say what response she had hoped to get from him, but that wasn't it. He thought she had hugged him because of the pain meds. Had she? Possibly, but only because she'd been wanting to for a long time. Alcohol probably would have made her do something similar.

Doing her best to squelch a surge of disappointment, she pushed away from him and looked down at the crutches splayed out on the floor. She really should have thought about how she intended to fetch them when she let them fall. Kneeling or crouching with only one good leg was an exercise in strength and balance…two things she didn't exactly excel in.

Seeing her perplexed look as she tried to decide how best to retrieve her crutches, Alucard chuckled. He stooped to scoop her up, one arm under her knees and the other cradling her shoulders. She yelped as he swept her feet out from under her and grabbed for his neck. He'd done this before, the last time less than 24 hours ago, but it still surprised her. No one else she'd known had ever carried her…whether she needed it or not.

Without a word, the vampire made his way toward the basement stairs and down into the chilly darkness. After the hug and Alucard's less than stellar reaction to it, Alexis wasn't completely sure how to react to this gesture. Should she demand he put her down and go fetch the crutches for her? She could, but she didn't _want_ to. In fact, she had to admit that she rather liked being carried in his arms like this.

Deciding she didn't want to play guessing games, she tightened her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, inhaling deeply. He smelled of earth and a neck-ruffling metallic scent she couldn't identify…probably blood. It wasn't a combination that she ever would have called _pleasant_, but it was Alucard and she was coming to equate that smell with safety and, strangely enough, comfort.

By the time they got to the basement room, Alexis's eyelids were drooping. Yes, the medicine was definitely kicking in. Alucard settled her in the bed, helping her slide her feet under the blankets when she couldn't seem to get them to cooperate. She wanted to say something to him as she settled down against the pillow but she couldn't come up with anything. Instead, her eyes closed and sleep started sucking her down.

In that vague, semi-aware state just before oblivion claimed her, she wondered what it meant that he had hugged her back.

-ssSSss-

Soft lights illuminated a room hung with silks and glittering chandeliers. Tables draped in pristine white tablecloths seated a myriad of women dressed in ball gowns of ruby, emerald, sapphire and amethyst. Couples whirled about a parquet dance floor, the men little more than automatons that were all identical copies of one another. Only the women stood out, a sea of jeweled dresses and carefully coiffed hair running the gambit from platinum blond to deepest black.

Alexis stood in a corner, her own drab locks hanging loose about her face and a garish yellow floral print sundress clinging to her shoulders. She tried to stick to the shadows, cringing from the disdainful looks the closest women gave her. She felt like a tattered duck in a flock of swans. It probably would be prudent to just leave, but she couldn't go before she found him.

Her eyes searched the glittering crowd, glancing over the flashing, smiling teeth, smooth skin and sultry eyes of the women. She had no interest in _them_.

There! A flash of red without a speck of glitter or sparkle to it. He turned, that rakish, spiked black hair swaying about his face. It fell across his eyes, making those red irises glow from behind the night-black tendrils like a hunting panther peering out of a primordial forest. Needle sharp fangs flashed in that manic grin and her heart leapt up into her throat.

Alucard ambled through the crowd like a buyer at a horse fair. His eyes lit up at the sight of a winsome blond with brilliant blue eyes. She wore a gown of deep sapphire that contrasted beautifully with her pale, creamy skin. The vampire lifted a gloved hand and caressed it down the woman's long, slender neck. She lifted her chin and tilted her head to the side for him. Alucard ducked down to sink fangs into that tender flesh.

Alexis felt like someone had dropped a stone in her belly as the woman's back arched and her head fell back.

The vampire only fed for a moment, little more than a taste, and then he pulled away. The woman swooned into a chair and Alucard moved on to his next delectable treat. This one was a dark-skinned beauty with exotically slanted eyes and a deep violet dress that hugged her curves. Long, raven hair fell in a silken waterfall down her back. The vampire smiled at her and she eagerly bared her throat for him.

Alexis gasped for breath like she had been kicked in the stomach as Alucard bent to sample that woman's wares. She had to get to him. If he drank from too many throats, he would be too full to want hers.

She pressed through the crowd, flinching away from the sneering lips and haughty glares. Mocking laughter followed in her wake and she suddenly realized she was stark naked. A small whimper escaped her lips as she scrambled to cover herself. She wanted to flee to the shadows, but she had to get to Alucard. Without him, she would die.

The commotion of her passage through the crowd made the vampire look up from the throat of a strawberry blond with fair skin and a tasteful smattering of freckles. He looked her up and down with a wide grin and she flushed at her nakedness.

"Please," she said. "I need you! I need you to feed on me. Please!"

He smirked at her, his eyes raking over her with a lascivious glint.

"When I need the services of a cheap slut, I'll keep you in mind."

His words hit her like a knife in the gut and he turned to smile at a sniggering brunette who offered him her hand. Alexis reached out for him, her stomach tied up in knots and her eyes opened to total darkness, tears spilling down her cheeks.

For a moment, she felt lost, confused by the sudden transition from softly lit ballroom to utter darkness. She blinked and fumbled around her, feeling blankets, mattress and pillows. A gloved hand touched her face and she froze.

"Alucard?"

"You cried out in your sleep."

Alexis felt a blush creep over her cheeks as she realized it had been a dream. Could he see or smell the tears that soaked her cheeks? She hoped not. She couldn't stand it if he gave her that look that the dream Alucard had given her. She had seen that look on his face several times, directed at other woman that threw themselves at him like cats in heat.

That gloved hand smoothed over her face, the pad of his thumb brushing over the line of wetness on her cheek. Busted. She turned away from him.

"Stupid dreams," she said. "They don't mean a thing."

"On the contrary, dreams mean a great deal, especially for you."

Alexis glared in the direction his voice had come from. A faint red glow started up in the vicinity of his eyes.

"Did you dream of me?" he asked in a low voice.

"Not like that," she growled, "and not that you fed on me. Quite the opposite, actually. You didn't _want_ me!"

Oh, hell. Why did she tell him that? He didn't need to know the contents of her dreams…especially _that_ dream. It was too humiliating.

Silence reigned for a moment and Alexis turned over, putting her back to him as she flushed with shame. She felt him shift about on the bed and curled tighter around herself.

"Dreams have meaning, but sometimes they are little more than the lies and deceit of your innermost fears. I have claimed you. It is your own insecurity that tells you I don't want you."

Alexis blinked in the darkness. Was that his roundabout way of telling her that he _did_ want her? It certainly sounded like it. What was it she had been thinking just the day before? Actions meant more than words and Alucard's actions had been making it clear that he cared for her. She rolled back over to see that the glow in his eyes had intensified.

Throwing caution to the wind, she reached out and grabbed the lapel of his duster.

"I know that you have to return to your coffin come dawn, but until then, I want you to lie down next to me. I…feel safer that way."

"As you command," he said in a soft voice, adjusting to stretch out next to her. She rolled back onto her side and scooted around until her back pressed against him. For a moment, he simply laid there, but then a long arm curled around her middle. It tightened, snugging her up against his chest and she sighed, the last fragments of her nightmare drifting away on a wave of contentment.

**A/N: So, I know of at least one person that's probably going to sic their family ghost on me for killing Gran. O.o It was necessary. Really. *yelps and flees***

**Seriously, though. I have to stay true to the characters I create and Stratonice just isn't the sort to let someone live when killing them will get her what she wants, faster. Why do you think she and Alucard got along so well at first? *evil grin***

**So, just so everyone knows, the fanfic is complete at 32 chapters plus epilogue. That being the case, I will be updating my posting to twice a week until it is all up. At that point, I'm probably going to drop off the radar for a time because I really, REALLY want to get some original fiction written, but I will leave my email notifications on, so if anyone wants to send me a PM, I'll get it and respond to it. I hope you all really enjoy the rest of the story. *hugs***


	27. Ch 26: Bad Decisions

**So, as promised, here is the next chapter on Thursday. Please enjoy and please review! I'm really enjoying everyone's feedback. *hugs***

**Chapter 26: Bad Decisions**

Alexis jerked awake feeling a curious sense of déjà vu. What had woken her?

A distant knocking gave her the answer. Fumbling for the phone on the bedside table, she checked the time. Ten in the morning. Alucard must have retired to his coffin for the day. He certainly wasn't curled behind her as he had been when she fell asleep last. All things considered, she didn't want to answer the door. Last night might have been a false alarm, but it didn't mean that Seras or any of Stratonice's other minions couldn't show up today.

With a potential army of created vampires somewhere out there and Alucard likely sleeping, answering the door alone seemed like a very, very bad idea. Content with her decision, Alexis rolled over and closed her eyes. The distant knocking stopped and she sighed with relief. She had almost drifted back to sleep when her phone rang.

Grumbling to herself, she rolled over and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, this is Piers Travers with Movers, London, looking for a Miss Montreve."

Alexis scowled. She vaguely remembered discussing moving arrangements for the stuff from her apartment with Ellis. He had said he would get it taken care of…but he was in the hospital, now. He must have scheduled it and not gotten a chance to tell her, or he did tell her and she forgot.

"Ah…yeah. This is she."

"Hello, Miss Montreve. We have arrived as scheduled, but no one seems to be home."

"Uh…yeah. I mean, no. I'm here. My, err…well, the estate manager that set the appointment was in an accident and is in the hospital. I didn't realize you were coming today."

"I see. We can reschedule for next week if you would like."

"Ah…no. No, I'd really like to get it done today. Just give me a moment."

Alexis hung up the phone and rolled out of bed. The hip ached and she really wanted to grab a meal and a pain pill, but she didn't want to make the movers wait more than they already had. Retrieving her crutches, she hobbled out of the basement room and up the stairs.

In the front foyer, she cursed as she struggled with the lock. The crutches got in her way and she growled, leaning them against the wall and putting a little weight on her bad leg to help her balance. It hurt but she didn't go crashing to the ground, writhing in pain.

With the crutches out of her way, she managed to twist the lock open and pulled the door open to smile at the man on the porch. He had dancing hazel eyes and a thatch of brown hair.

"Miss Montreve?"

"That's me. Why don't you…err…" She'd almost invited him in. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. He had a good cover story, but that didn't mean he wasn't a vampire, after all. "I suppose you'll need a key to the apartment, eh?"

Alexis retrieved her crutches from the wall and swung herself toward the front office where she'd left her purse. She left the door open to indicate the man was welcome to come in but without the spoken invitation a vampire would need.

The man peered into the front foyer and then stepped hesitantly over the threshold. Alexis breathed a sigh of relief as she came back out with the key.

"Did you need the address or did Ellis already give you that?" she asked, holding out the key. The man gave her a strange look. She glanced down to his name tag which read Piers Frye.

"Ah…we have the address, but I'm here to accompany your representative to the apartment."

"Accompany?" Alexis frowned. "Someone has to be with you?"

"For liability purposes, Movers, London requires the owner or their representative to be on site to document the items that are packed and their condition."

Alexis scowled. She could only assume that Ellis had intended to act as her representative. That would have been fine, except that Ellis wasn't available anymore. She bit her lip and gazed out the door.

"I really shouldn't be leaving." She lifted a crutch, using her injury as her excuse for not wanting to leave the house. "I think my estate manager intended to go as my representative, but he's out of commission at the moment."

Piers pulled out a tablet and tapped the screen a couple of times.

"Is that a Rodney Ellis?"

"Yeah."

"We have him listed here as the primary contact. I tried calling his phone number and didn't get an answer. You were listed as the secondary contact."

Alexis felt a little sick. Was Ellis still in the hospital? Just how badly had he been injured?

"We can reschedule for next week if you'd like." The man tapped the screen of his tablet again and Alexis sighed. She only had a couple of outfits at the mansion and although Ellis had made sure everything got washed while the staff was cleaning, she wasn't sure how long he would be out of commission or when someone else from the agency might be available. She did know that the appliances in the small room off the kitchen didn't work so he'd had to send out to have her stuff laundered. She supposed she could do that, but she really wanted her wardrobe…and her speakers, maybe some books. The journals were interesting, but knowing they were true sometimes left a queasy feeling in her belly. Not exactly relaxing reading material.

She wanted her _stuff_.

"No, that's okay. I'll go with you. I just…I need to get something."

She needed to wake Alucard up, but he would be tucked away in his coffin and he'd warned her not to disturb him when he slept. He'd already spent the previous day awake and all that time at the hospital. Add to that the cleaning woman waking him prematurely just two days ago and Alexis figured he'd be doubly cranky if she woke him up again. He needed his sleep.

Swinging herself into the front office, she fetched her purse. She had her cross and she would be in her apartment once she got there. It had held James at bay, before. She would be fine for the short drive to her building.

She conveniently ignored the fact that the drive to her apartment wasn't short at all and slung her purse over her shoulder as she joined Piers in heading out the door.

-ssSSss-

A single raven with a viciously hooked beak cocked its head as the blue and white moving truck pulled out of the driveway onto the two lane country road. The huge bird ruffled its feathers and hopped down the branch, moving its head to focus a single red eye on the vehicle. The truck picked up speed as it hurried down the road. The raven cried out with a loud caw and launched itself from the branch, winging off in the truck's wake.

Alexis stared into the van's rearview mirror. Although she kept telling herself everything was fine, that little voice in the back of her head kept screaming that she was an idiot for leaving the house without the vampire. Viciously, she squelched the voice and wrenched her eyes away from the mirror. That voice had been wrong about Alucard and a hundred other things. It must be wrong about this. Besides, she had already left and nothing had happened. It would be fine.

Despite what she kept telling herself, the skin on the back of her neck crawled as they trundled toward the heart of London, the empty back end of the truck rattling and bouncing as they went. Shivers raced down her spine and she fought with the urge to jump out of the truck and race home. A hundred times, she opened her mouth to tell Piers to turn back but shut it again without saying anything. The further away they got, the safer it was to just keep going, and if she was brutally honest with herself, she knew she just wanted her stuff and damn the consequences. Besides, it wasn't like Alucard had ever failed to save her since they met.

Alexis bit her lip as that thought formed in her head. Even as she thought it, she realized that was dumb, arrogant…and weak. When she got back, she fully intended to throw herself into studying what the Hellsing journals had to teach. Somehow, Van Helsing…and probably his descendants…had found a way to stand shoulder to shoulder with the vampire they commanded. They had the knowledge and skills to protect themselves so they could use Alucard as an offensive weapon rather than a shield. She wanted that.

Her mind wandered over the journals, the evidence of a standing army living at Hellsing and the vampire himself speaking of answering to the Hellsings as his master. It didn't take a genius to realize the family had been a force to be reckoned with. They'd had money, power and influence, and they'd used it to protect people. She liked that idea and had begun to seriously consider taking up the mantle that Alucard's last master had dropped when she died.

The moving van came to a stop and Piers turned it off. Alexis looked up and blinked. They had arrived, safe and sound without incident. A second moving van stood at the curb and six men and a woman dressed in shirts that matched Piers's waited in front of her apartment building.

Feeling a small sense of relief, Alexis opened the door and slid to the ground, balancing herself on her good leg while she retrieved her crutches. The other workers came forward as she gave them a smile.

"So…I'm on the fifth floor. I'll see about getting a key to the freight elevator for you guys. You won't want to lug everything up and down all those stairs. I'm afraid this move is a little sudden so I haven't done _any_ packing."

"That's what we're here for, Miss Montreve." Piers gave her a smile and gestured for her to lead the way. Alexis swung her way into the building's lobby and gave the door to the stairs a mournful look. Maybe she should get the key for the freight elevator before she let them into the apartment. She didn't relish the thought of navigating up all those steps.

"Wait here," she said over her shoulder and headed for the office on the ground floor. Pushing the clear glass door open, she hobbled inside and gave the woman behind the desk a smile.

"Hi. I'm Alexis in unit 5-G. I had something come up, very sudden. I wanted to see if I could get a key to the freight elevator. I'll be moving out today."

The woman frowned and turned to her computer, typing in a search. She pulled up the file and looked it over, her frown deepening.

"Your lease isn't up for another seven months. The penalty for breaking lease it two months' rent and the reletting fee in your lease contract." The woman looked up at her with a belligerent expression. Alexis scowled with irritation.

"Yes, I know that. Like I said, it's sudden. Can I please get that key?"

"I'm afraid I can't release a key to the freight elevator until the terms of the lease are fulfilled."

"What?" Alexis growled under her breath. "The terms of the lease _are_ fulfilled. I said I was moving out, not breaking lease. I'm current on my rent, aren't I?"

The woman frowned at her computer screen.

"Well…yes…but you're moving out before the end of your lease. That is breaking lease."

"No, you simple-minded idiot. If I move out and refuse to pay the rent for the rest of my lease…_that_ is breaking lease. It doesn't matter for you if I actually occupy the unit, so long as the rent is paid on time."

The woman set her jaw and glared at Alexis.

"If you take your things, we have no collateral to use if you don't pay rent on time. I'm afraid I must insist."

"Oh, this is ridiculous! I _was_ going to pay out the rest of the lease, but all you're getting, now, is the two month's rent and the reletting fee." Alexis opened her purse and rummaged around for her new credit card. Pulling it out, she shoved it in the woman's face. "There! Run the card for the amount specified in the lease and give me the damn key!"

The woman snatched the card from her hand and gave her a hard glare.

"Once the card clears, I'll give you the key." She turned to her computer, typing furiously. Alexis glared at her, wondering if she now had access to enough money to buy out the building. She would _love_ to have the authority to fire this little twit.

Looking over her shoulder, she gave Piers and his fellow movers an apologetic smile. He nodded and gave her a small salute. They'd probably heard the argument all the way out there.

The woman seemed to take forever and she very pointedly double checked that the card had cleared when she ran it. Grudgingly, she handed the piece of plastic back to Alexis and gave her a form and receipt to sign.

"We'll need a forwarding address and we'll be holding your deposit against any damages to the unit." From the tone of her voice, she seemed to expect the place to be trashed when Alexis left. Alexis, for her part, felt very tempted to do just that.

With a glare, she signed the forms, filling out the forwarding address with her bank's information. Mr. Foss had told her that she could have any financial correspondence forwarded to them and he would take care of it.

With all of that done, the woman gave her a suspicious look but finally retrieved the key from a locked filing cabinet.

"Do you know how to use it?" she asked, holding the key out. Alexis suppressed the urge to growl at her.

"I _did_ move in." She snatched the key from the woman and stuck it in her teeth so she could use her hands for the crutches. With one last, dirty look at the bitch, she took herself back to the foyer.

"Sorry about that," she said around the key in her mouth. "They're not the friendliest people, here."

Piers shrugged.

"It's fine by us. We get paid by the hour." He gave her a saucy wink as she swung past him and headed for the freight elevator.

Alexis felt a pang of homesickness once they reached the apartment. It looked almost exactly the same as it had when she'd left nearly two weeks ago. Grateful that she hadn't had dirty dishes sitting in the kitchen all that time, she let the movers in. They looked the place over and had a short meeting to form a plan of action.

Alexis watched them divvy up the rooms among them and then four of them headed back to the trucks to retrieve packing supplies and dollies. The rest split up and started assessing what all had to be done.

Feeling like a fifth wheel, Alexis noticed her copy of Dracula, face down on the couch where she had left it. Wishing she had brought one of the journals to read, she hobbled over to the couch and sat down. There were worse things to read while she waited.

To her surprise, the packing didn't take long. Between the fact that she just didn't own much and the eight people packing it up had years of experience, she found herself standing in an empty apartment in just under three hours.

"Wow. You guys are good," she said, looking around. They had even cleaned it for her. Piers gave her another saucy smile.

"This was a breeze compared to some of the moves I've done. We didn't even need the second truck."

Alexis wondered if she should be ashamed that she had so little. Shaking that thought out of her head, she smiled at Piers. She could take what mattered from it, and move on.

"I guess I'll turn my key in and we can get going."

The woman in the office sniffed with haughty disdain when she turned in the key to her apartment and the elevator. Alexis gave her a sweet smile.

"I'll be sure to leave a review about my experiences today online."

With that parting shot, she headed outside and climbed up into the truck. Six of the movers were already on their way to Hellsing and the seventh was taking the extra truck back while Piers waited for her. He helped her up into the truck, handing the crutches up before pushing the door closed.

The truck seemed much more reluctant to move with all of her stuff weighing down the back. Piers carefully eased it out into traffic and headed North, toward Waltham Abbey. Alexis sat back in her seat and sighed, not sure if she was happy or sad to be out of her apartment. She still felt like a pea rattling around in an empty box at Hellsing. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad once she got some permanent staff hired. At least the place wouldn't be so _empty_, then.

The rock and sway of the truck made her eyelids droop. She had fixed herself a meal from the frozen and canned foods left in her kitchen before it had all been thrown out. That had given her a chance to take a pain pill and she was starting to feel its effects. She fell into a light doze and barely noticed the truck's stops and starts as they made their way through London's busy streets.

The truck slowing to a stop didn't alert her to anything unusual, so she was taken completely by surprise when her door opened and strong hands grabbed her arm, yanking her out of her seat. Pain flared from her hip as the sudden movement jarred it, but a cold hand closed over her mouth before she could scream.

Piers whipped around, his eyes wide and mouth open to shout. The sound never passed his lips. A low, sultry voice close to Alexis's ear instructed him to carry on and not question that his passenger had disappeared. He nodded, his gaze glassy and vacant. Alexis jerked and convulsed, struggling to break the grip on her enough so she could scream. The arms holding her tightened to the point of pain and she subsided with a whimper.

The truck's door slammed closed and a small sound of despair escaped her throat. She had completely forgotten about the danger of being away from Alucard.

The engine revved and the truck pulled away. A low chuckle rang hollowly in her ear and cold chills raced down her spine. She had one hand free and once chance to get at the cross hanging under her shirt.

A woman stepped around her, milky skin and dark eyes giving her a Mediterranean look. She had the most distinctively Roman nose Alexis had ever seen on a woman and looked like her profile should have been stamped into some ancient Greek coin. All things considered, it might have been, at one time.

She realized as the woman examined her that there must be two of them. She still had a hand clamped over her mouth. With luck, the one holding onto her wouldn't be as strong as Stratonice. If she could just get the cross out, she might have a chance. Over Stratonice's shoulder, she could see the steeple of a church rising above the trees lining the road. Surely, even Stratonice would pause at walking into a church.

"So this is it…the Ambrosian."

Alexis's heart skipped a beat in her chest. How could she know that?...unless death _had_ come for Gran and her guard last night.

White-hot anger flared in her chest and she bared her teeth at the ancient vampire. Too bad there was a hand in the way and Stratonice couldn't see it.

"I wonder if the legends really are true." The vampire reached out to stroke Alexis's cheek, baring her fangs in a wide smile. "Just how sweet is your blood?"

Alexis shrank away from the touch. It made her skin crawl. Stratonice chuckled and closed the distance between them, leering down at the human.

"Shall we find out?"

Alexis made a small fear sound deep in her throat as Stratonice's lips pulled back from a pair of viciously long fangs. The vampire lunged for her and Alexis jerked back, the grip of the minion holding onto her slipping just a bit. Stratonice's strike missed and Alexis seized the opportunity to reach up and yank the cross out from under her shirt.

The blessed silver brushed over the arms holding her and the minion released her, shrinking back with a high, keening sound.

Alexis swayed and almost fell as the support the minion had provided her vanished. With her crutches still in the moving van, a flat out sprint was out of the question. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she hobbled as fast as she could toward the trees and the steeple.

Dr. Cleland had told her she needed to start using her bad leg more. Now was as good a time to start as any.

She really didn't expect to make it across the street. Stratonice's minion might shy away from her cross, but she couldn't imagine that the ancient vampire, herself, would have any trouble with it. She glanced over her shoulder and a small shout escaped her mouth as she came face to face with the vampire.

Stratonice grinned, baring fangs, her dark eyes dancing with sadistic glee. Alexis stumbled and cried out as a sharp stab of pain ripped through her hip. The pain pill took care of the worst of the ache when she was hobbling for her life, but the jarring of a bad stumble overwhelmed its ability to numb her nerves.

She almost fell but caught herself against the metal bole of a street lamp. Stratonice laughed, a low, threatening sound. Alexis glared at the vampire and concentrated on getting her balance back. Gritting her teeth, she pushed the pain to the back of her mind. She couldn't afford to let the ache in her hip cost her time or focus.

Stratonice lunged for her, that pointy grin reminiscent of a certain red-clad vampire she could think of. Alexis cursed at her and pushed away from the lamp, hobbling for the trees. She could only hope that the ground surrounding the church was as blessed as the building itself. She didn't think Stratonice would let her make it to the door of the church in this game of cat and mouse.

A low stone wall separated the sidewalk from the trees. Alexis rolled over it, landing on the other side on her good knee. The move still sent a spike of pain through her and she gritted her teeth against the ache. Her lungs burned with her desperate efforts to draw enough breath to keep her screaming muscles supplied with oxygen.

Hissing through her teeth, Alexis scrambled into the trees, grabbing for limbs and trunks to keep her steady as she headed in the general direction of the steeple.

The six foot chain link fence seemed to materialize out of thin air and she bounded into it, bouncing back to collapse to the ground in a heap.

"No. No!" She grabbed for the links, seeing the stone wall of the church just beyond one last stand of trees. Frantically, she looked left and right but the fence extended in both directions until it disappeared in the brush. There was no way she could climb it.

"NO!" Alexis hit the fence with her fist and it just bounced back. A low chuckle echoed in the trees behind her.

"You didn't honestly think you had a chance, did you?"

Alexis turned, perching her weight on her good hip as she looked behind her. Her heart beat out a rapid tattoo in her chest and her lungs heaved with exertion. Stratonice must have known the fence was there.

Alexis opened her mouth to scream and almost choked trying to stifle it. Who could help her? They were miles away from Hellsing and Alucard. A human trying to help her would just get killed.

Trapped, with no way to escape, Alexis lifted her chin in defiance and did her best to glare the vampire to death. Stratonice smirked at her.

"Smart girl. No one can save you. You were mine the moment you stepped out of that house."

Alexis didn't deign to respond to the taunt. She'd pretty much already come to that conclusion. She hooked her hand in the fence, stuffing herself up against it as the vampire stalked toward her. For one scintillating moment, she imagined she had Alucard's ability to phase through solid objects. She could think of a hundred situations where that would be useful, but none as poignant as this one. The worst part was, she probably wasn't even about to die. No, enslavement was a far likelier fate.

Stratonice approached in a crouch, that familiar manic grin stretched across her features. Alucard must have picked up his smiling habits from her. Inches away from Alexis, she went to hands and knees, moving as though she had more vertebrae than a humanoid body had any right to. Alexis wanted to look away, hide her face but she forced herself to look the vampire in the eye. Stratonice's grin widened, if that was even possible.

"So brave," she said, her face less than a hand's breadth away. Alexis shivered as the vampire's cool breath washed over her skin. Sensuous lips pulled back from a row of wickedly pointed teeth, the fangs like two long, deadly parenthesis bracketing the impressive dentistry.

Alexis jerked as the vampire struck, an involuntary shout escaping her throat. Those wickedly sharp teeth sank into her flesh and pain seared through her, stealing the breath from her lungs. She jerked and convulsed, scrabbling against the cold hands that closed around her arms and the jaw that gripped her throat. She couldn't help but struggle. The deepest, darkest recesses of her brain wouldn't let her submit to the attack without some token attempt at escape.

The vampire drew on the wound, taking in a great mouthful of blood and swallowing it down. Alexis's back arched, a choked sound burbling up out of her throat. The change from pain to euphoria that she had experienced with Alucard never came. She kept waiting for it, her fingers tightening on the fence links as tears leaked out from under her eyelids, but all she knew was pain and the greedy swallowing of the vampire.

She had begun to think she might not have to worry about enslavement after all when the grip on her arms vanished and the fangs released her. A sharp, animalistic snarl made her jerk and her eyes opened. She blinked, confused by the sight of Stratonice cowering back from a brilliant white glow.

"In t'e name o' God, I banish you, foul creature, back to t'e pits o' Hell from whence you came. T'e power o' our Lord, Christ commands you!"

Stratonice hissed and Alexis expected her to attack the source of the glow, to rip it apart, but the light seemed to pulse and the vampire scrambled backwards, almost as though pushed by a physical force. The fence that she leaned against gave under Alexis's weight and warm hands closed around her arms. She jerked, instinctively trying to escape the grip on her person.

"Easy there, child. I'll not hurt ye." The voice was gentle with a thick Irish accent and the breath that brushed over her ear was warm. For one moment, she debated over whether she could trust the voice or not…but what choice did she have? She could feel that familiar paralysis creeping over her.

Taking a deep breath, she relaxed into the grip and the hands pulled her through a hole that had magically appeared in the fence. She blinked, wondering if she had somehow missed the sound of the metal links being cut.

Stratonice snarled again but she didn't follow them as the owner of the voice gathered Alexis in his arms. She grunted as the motion jarred her hip, but the darkness was sucking her down and everything whirled around her in a confused maelstrom.

The last thing she remembered was the livid red glow of Stratonice's eyes, bright with rage and pure, unadulterated hunger.

**A/N: I had someone ask in an anonymous review whether Alexis could become a vampire or not since she's an Ambrosian. The answer is, no. My Ambrosians cannot become vampires. However, once their blood is activated, their life span naturally increases by quite a bit, in some cases, as much as ten times that of a normal human. Of course, the odds of them actually living that long can be rather slim…there are many, many more ways to die than old age. Of course, Alucard and Alexis don't know that. *grin***


	28. Ch 27: Alchemist

**A/N: Before anyone gets too excited, this is not suddenly a crossover with Full Metal Alchemist. Sorry. :3**

**Also, I had a lot of people thinking that the new character is Anderson returned. Eheh…sorry, but no. I know for a lot of people, the accents are similar, but Anderson had a Scottish accent whereas this guy has an Irish accent. I'm sorry for the confusion, although I have to admit, the character has some similarities to Anderson. Heh. What can I say? I liked Anderson too, but I follow the manga cannon where Anderson is well and truly dead. :)**

**Chapter 27: Alchemist**

Something cool and wet settled on her forehead and a line of water dripped down her temple to soak into her hairline. Alexis opened her eyes and squinted at the light that assaulted her dark sensitive pupils. A warm hand rubbed the line of moisture from her temple and she blinked, trying to clear her vision.

"Awake, are ye?"

That voice sounded familiar, but only just. She could say she knew the voice, but she couldn't seem to bring a name or face to mind that matched it.

Frowning, she squinted up at the man hovering over her. He had dark brown hair that almost looked black. Pale eyes that she thought might be green smiled down at her. He had a straight nose that turned up at the tip and high cheekbones. A fine shadow covered his neck and jaw, leading down into a black collar with a white rectangle in the center.

"Who are you?"

The man smiled and the expression consumed his entire face, from the curl of his lips to the crinkle at the corners of his eyes. It was a smile full of good intentions that made Alexis want to smile back, regardless of his answer.

"My name's Fadder Liam Kilduff. Ye passed out after I fetched ye from yer ordeal. Can't say as I blame ye, but ye've been sleeping for nigh on t'ree hours."

Alexis gasped and tried to sit up but her entire body protested at the attempt. The paralyzing effects of the venom hadn't completely cleared out of her system and she groaned as she relaxed back against…was that a pew?

"Where am I?"

"Ye're in t'e sanctuary of t'e church of St. Josephine."

"What happened to Stratonice?"

Father Kilduff frowned.

"I can only assume t'at's t'e devil t'at assaulted ye?"

"Yeah, that's her."

"She hasn't a chance o' settin' foot in t'is buildin'. Ye needn't fret it, none."

Alexis could only hope that the priest knew what he was talking about. Of course, the fact that she had been laying on a pew for almost three hours and Stratonice hadn't scooped her up seemed to support his claims.

"Well, that's a relief, at least. So, you're a priest?"

The man chuckled, giving her a quirky smile that only creased one side of his face.

"Of a sort, ye could say, although t'ey don't like t' let me out in public much. I keep t'e grounds and manage t'e books, y'see."

Alexis lifted an eyebrow. Why did he seem to find her question so funny?

"Are they ashamed of you or something?"

"Aye, ye could say t'at. Got some ideas up here t'ey don't care to have bandied about." He tapped his forehead with a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Are the higher-ups worried you think too much?"

Father Kilduff chuckled.

"Aye, somet'ing loike t'at." He reached out to retrieve the damp cloth from her forehead and pressed the back of his hand to her skin.

"Ye don't seem t' have fever. 'Twas worried, I was, for a bit, there."

"No, I wouldn't have a fever," Alexis said, lifting her hand. To her relief, she succeeded. Reaching up, she touched her throat where Stratonice had bitten her and found a large piece of gauze and medical tape in her way. "It's just going to be a little while before I can move everything again."

Father Kilduff turned to drop the cloth into a wide bowl of water on the pew above her head.

"Ye don't seem particularly surprised by t'e attack ye suffered."

Alexis gave the priest a narrow look. He'd driven Stratonice off, but did he know _what_ he'd driven off? Would he think her mad if she told him the truth? Maybe not. He had to have some knowledge of the supernatural to have understood what he needed to do to help her.

"Well, it's not my first time to be attacked…like that."

The priest chuckled and shook his head.

"Let's drop the pretense, eh? You were bitten by a vampire and you obviously know exactly what it was, yes?"

Alexis blinked. A moment ago, he'd had a thick Irish accent. Now, he spoke with the cultured lilt of an Oxford graduate. Father Kilduff grinned and winked at her.

"Gave ye a start there, eh? I grew up with the accent until my early teens and then I came to live with my uncle in London. It only took two months of taunts and jeers for me to put a concerted effort into adjusting my accent."

"You do it well," Alexis said with a smile. "You switch back and forth so easily. Almost like you're two different people."

The man shrugged.

"It comes in handy. Any time it seems like I've said too much, I lay on the accent and everyone discounts anything I've said. It's amazing how people assume that anyone that isn't just like them must be inferior in some way. It's not even conscious on their part. It's just part of the egocentric assumptions that come of being limited to a single point of view…our own." The priest chuckled as Alexis mulled over his words. He stood and picked up the bowl, carrying it toward a door at the side of the sanctuary. Alexis heard the splash of water pouring into a sink and Father Kilduff reappeared with a towel in hand, drying his fingers. "So, I doubt you're actually interested in discussing the philosophy of human nature. Tell me, how did you come to be attacked by one of the undead and survive it?"

"Oh, _that's_ an interesting story…and a long one." Alexis sighed, doing a mental inventory of what parts of her body worked and what didn't. She thought she might be able to sit up, but decided to give it a couple more minutes.

"Well, I have nothing pressing to do today. Please. Enlighten me."

The priest returned to sit on the chair he had set up next to the front pew where Alexis reclined.

"Oh, where do I begin?" Alexis bit her lip and stared up at the distant, vaulted ceiling. She wracked her mind and came up with a memory of Gran warning her to be careful who knew what she was and what it meant. She sighed. "Actually, father, I think it might be best if I _don't_ enlighten you, for your safety as much as mine. Suffice it to say, I'm not your typical human and over the last few weeks, I've fallen deeper into the world of the undead than I ever thought I could, especially considering that a month ago, I didn't know it even existed."

"That's a shame. Your story sounds like it would be absolutely _fascinating_…and rather curious considering the vampire presence in England has been nearly non-existent for the last century."

Alexis smiled at him, her mind going back to the journals she had been reading. The Hellsings had used Alucard to hunt the vampires of England. Had he kept that up after the death of the last Hellsing? Entirely possible. She laughed softly.

"I think I might have run into the very reason for that, actually."

"Oh, really?" The priest's voice held far too much interest for Alexis's comfort. Deciding it felt like a good time to try sitting up, she reached for the back of the pew and began pulling herself up. Father Kilduff rose and she expected him to push her back down, but soon found herself sitting up completely. His hands steadied her shoulders and adjusted her knees, which still weren't working completely, until they fell comfortably over the edge of the pew. Alexis blinked at the man with surprise.

"Thank-you, father."

"Please. Call me Liam. I really am a priest in name only according to my superiors. I'm afraid I've made you nervous and uncomfortable. It was not my intent." He smiled and returned to his seat. He'd had his hands all over her for a moment there, but not once had she felt like he'd taken advantage of it. She cocked her head at him.

"Maybe if I knew more about you. A priest that claims his superiors don't consider him a real priest doesn't exactly inspire confidence."

"That's a telling point," he said with a smile. "What do you want to know?"

"How did you drive Stratonice back?"

Father Liam sat back in his chair, a grin on his face.

"That's easy. The power of God drove her back."

"No. That doesn't fly with me. I had a blessed cross on and she plowed right past that. I've seen a vampire a thousand years younger than her grab that same cross and rip it from my neck."

"Are you certain the cross is blessed at all? It sounds like little more than a pretty ornament."

"It's driven lesser vampires off. It glowed like a captive star. It just doesn't work on the big, mean ones."

"And how much confidence did you have that the cross would work on these 'big, mean ones' you speak of?"

Alexis frowned, thinking back. With James, she'd known it would work because Alucard had given it to her for that purpose, but she'd doubted it would work against Alucard because he would have had to handle it in order to leave it for her.

"Well, bugger me!"

Liam chuckled at the expression on her face.

"Faith is more than just a word or even wishful thinking. It is a force that science can never quantify because scientists approach everything from a position of doubt."

"It can't be that easy!"

"Well, it is and it isn't. The power of the faith is absolute, but the ability of the human mind to encompass it is limited. We don't believe easily, and for good reason. The world is full of deceit and to believe a lie is dangerous." Liam smiled and reached out to put a hand on her knee. "Suffice it to say that I have a lot of experience with faith and its power."

"Okay, I give. You have a point. But it still sounds too easy, and doesn't explain everything. How did you know I was in trouble? You got there too fast to be responding to my scream. And what about the fence? It just magically opened so you could pull me through."

"Ah." Liam frowned and tapped a finger against his chin. "You remember that. I don't suppose you would accept that your perception is confused because you had just suffered a traumatic attack?"

Alexis lifted an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Especially when you phrase it like that."

The man chuckled and gave her a goofy grin.

"I thought not. And, perhaps I said it that way because it would be nice to share with someone that might not assume my abilities are gifts from the devil."

Alexis tilted her head to the side, eyebrows raised.

"Why do I suspect this is the reason your superiors try to keep you hidden away?"

"Because you are very smart. You see, I'm an alchemist."

Alexis frowned. The parts of Van Helsing's journal that described the seal used to control Alucard had mentioned alchemy. She had wanted to discount it, except that Alucard had spoken of the seal as a very real, effective thing. Still, the idea of finding anyone that practiced alchemy in this day and age seemed ludicrous.

"Alchemy is a dead science."

Liam chuckled and shook his head.

"Alchemy has always been a valid science. It simply requires an unshakeable belief in energy that vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch cannot quantify alone. Some might call it magic, and they are related, but not the same."

"So, you're telling me that you used alchemy to open the fence?"

"And sense the presence of the supernatural thing attacking you."

"That's really something." Alexis crossed her arms, biting her lip in thought. She tapped a finger on her arm as she chewed on that lip. "So, you have the ability to wield power similar to magic, sense supernatural beings and call on the power of faith to drive back a vampire old enough to have seen the fall of Rome."

"Among other things," Liam said with a smile.

"And what is it that the church has you doing?"

The priest chuckled.

"I manage the funds and grounds for several buildings that belong to the church."

It did seem ridiculous for his abilities to be wasted that way. From the bitter expression on his face, Alexis thought he might feel the same way.

"So, you're a glorified estate manager."

"You could say that." Liam chuckled with a bitterly ironic undertone and shook his head. "As it is, I could be deposed if my superiors find out that I have revealed what I have to you."

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." Alexis smiled at him. "I wonder, though. Just how attached to the church are you? I think I might be interested in offering you a job."

-ssSSss—

A cloud of bats whirled through the deepening twilight, the angry snap of wings and red glow of the myriad eyes giving it a threatening, unnatural presence. The creatures flew with single-minded determination instead of breaking up into a flitting, feeding pattern like any normal bat. A casual observer might mistake them for a low-flying flock of birds migrating to better climes, except that no self-respecting bird would still be out and about in the growing darkness.

The mass of bats turned, angling down toward a white washed steeple crowned by an ornate iron cross. They plummeted toward the building and then scattered as though they had struck an invisible barrier protecting the church and its grounds. Angry cries that only the most sensitive of human ears could register erupted from a thousand small throats.

The horde of bats skimmed the invisible barrier, flinching back from its surface as they tested its bounds. They dived down toward the concrete of the building's parking lot, whirling in a complex dance. Near the ground, they coalesced to form a shadowy pair of boots, built into legs bracketed by the folds of a heavy duster. The shadows picked out the buttons of a double breasted suit and a loose, flowing cravat. Tendrils of hair writhed back from a pale face and lips pulled back in a grin that was more than half snarl.

Piercing red eyes glowed from behind orange tinted lenses and the creature lifted a white-gloved hand to touch the invisible barrier. The red-clad figure took a step back as the barrier pulsed, rejecting his advance with a vehemence generally reserved for animate, aware creatures. With an arrogant sneer, the monster stalked along the edge of the invisible dome, testing its boundaries for any chink, any weakness that would let him through to retrieve that which he had come for.

Father Kilduff looked up, his olive green eyes gazing into the distance, seeming to track something moving beyond the walls of the church. Alexis trailed off in the middle of her explanation of why she needed an estate manager that could hold his own in a supernatural attack.

"What? What is it?"

"We have a visitor…one the wards aren't allowing through, which means it isn't human. Wait here."

The priest rose and hurried around the row of pews, down the central aisle of the church.

"Wards? What are you talking about?" Liam didn't even acknowledge her question as he disappeared through the distant doorway. He hadn't said anything about wards…whatever those were…until now. She could only assume they were what they sounded like…some kind of mystical barrier. Was that what he had used to keep Stratonice at bay? Was it Stratonice out there, now?

Alexis wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, remembering the feel of Stratonice's fangs in her throat. With a sudden wrenching in the vicinity of her sternum, she realized she missed Alucard. It should have been _his_ fangs sinking into her flesh. Guiltily, she realized she hadn't even checked the time to see if he might be awake. She needed to get home. She only hoped Father Kilduff would be willing to escort her. She didn't want to risk Stratonice nabbing her again.

A distant shout reached her ears and her head came up. Was there a problem with whatever was snooping around the priest's wards? She strained her ears to listen and a faint masculine, manic laugh reached her ears.

"Alucard!"

Alexis scrambled to her feet, wincing as her aching hip protested at the violent movement. Pushing the pain away, she used the pews to brace herself as she hobbled down the church aisle, praying that Father Liam's offensive abilities weren't as effective as his defensive ones. Somehow, she didn't see Alucard giving up as easily as Stratonice had.

-ssSSss—

The creature stalked along the edge of the ward, a white gloved hand trailing along the invisible barrier. Father Liam scowled as he felt the wards bend and groan under the force of the thing's power. Assuming it must be a minion of the thing that had attacked his guest, he marched across the churchyard, one hand open as he summoned motes of dust from the air around him. They gathered in the palm of his hand, compacting down into a solid pebble of dirt, roughly the size of a pea.

Pocketing that in his cassock, he reached into an inside pocket of the clerical robe and pulled out a pair of black leather driving gloves. They bore no markings, but to the sensitive eye, they fairly crackled with energy. Slipping his right hand inside the close-fitting leather, he pulled the strap just above the wrist snug and repeated the process with his left hand.

The creature paused, looking the priest up and down with a contemptuous sneer.

"I order you to leave this place. Your kind is not welcome here," Liam said, his green eyes brightening with the intensity of the energies that the gloves helped him harness.

The vampire's arrogant sneer curled into a smirking smile. He reached up to pull the orange glasses from the bridge of his nose and looked the priest up and down, his red irises glowing ever so slightly in the growing darkness.

"You have something of mine that needs to be returned to me and she had best be unharmed…priest."

Liam shook his head, a grim look creasing his features.

"I think she has suffered enough at the hands of your master, devil."

"Master?" Alucard arched an eyebrow and his lips skimmed back to bare fangs in a brazen, mocking grin. Liam scowled at him, dark brows slanting down over the green irises that took on a glow to match the vampire's. He brought his gloved hands together and then drew them apart. A breeze picked up, increasing into a whipping wind as the palms separated. The nearby grass and trees swayed and moved, bending away from the wind that blew out from the space between his palms. A long, narrow rope of water vapor spun out between his hands, occasional flashes of electricity arcing from one palm to the other.

"Liam looked up from the harnessed power of a storm that he held in his hands and glared at the vampire. The green glow of his eyes flickered with the flashes of electricity that lit his face with an eerie blue glow.

"You will be gone, devil spawn. _Now_!" With that last shouted command, he gestured at the vampire, shoving the power of the storm at him.

The spinning rope of water vapor enveloped the vampire, soaking his hair and duster. Electricity arced from Liam's hands, striking the vampire and flickering through him, lighting the flesh up from the inside.

A shout of surprise escaped Alucard's throat and his body shattered into a hundred bats spinning out form a central point. They whirled and dove, coalescing again to reveal the creature standing five feet from his original position, grinning like a loon.

A laugh bubbled up out of his throat, rising into a manic cackle, complete with wide, crazed eyes and whipping, self animate hair. Looking like a thrill seeker plunging out of a perfectly good airplane, the vampire reached into the folds of his duster, pulling out a long, silver automatic handgun the likes of which no human stood a chance of wielding.

Baring his flat, human teeth at the monster, Liam made a gesture with his left hand, transferring the storm energy into his right hand. Flashes of electricity sparked between his fingers, occasionally arcing out to strike the ground or his shoulder and chest. His body absorbed the strikes with nary a flinch as he reached into his pocket to pull out the pebble of compacted dust he had placed there.

Sighting off of his free arm, the vampire took aim with that massive gun and pulled the trigger.

Liam tossed the dust pebble into the air and the motes scattered, flattening out into a wide, concave surface a molecule thick that deflected the bullet, sending it careening into the sky where it would expend its energy against the pull of gravity and fall harmlessly back to the ground.

Two more shots rang out and were deflected by the dust shield. Liam snarled and lashed out with his right hand, a thin arc of electricity flying out to rip a gash open down Alucard's left side. Blood poured from the wound and the vampire threw his head back with laughter.

"Finally!" he shouted, those glowing red eyes shining with excitement. "A _real_ challenge! Drop this holy shield, priest and let us dance!"

"No!"

The shout came from the direction of the church and both vampire and priest turned to see Alexis hobbling as fast as she could toward them, stumbling as her injured hip gave out under her.

"Don't! Alucard, he saved me from Stratonice! Father Kilduff, he's a friend. He's not here to hurt me! Don't fight!"

She stumbled and went down, crying out as the fall jarred her hip.

Giving the vampire a distrustful look, Liam made a jerking motion with his right hand. Alucard held him at gun point but the priest didn't' seem terribly concerned as he adjusted the dust shield to create a paper thin barrier between him and the vampire that could stop a small bomb if need be.

He strode across the church yard, the folds of his cassock flapping around his legs as he hurried to Alexis's side. Alucard paced him from the other side of the invisible barrier, gritting his teeth as he lifted a hand to the wards and was again repulsed.

"Lower this barrier, priest!"

Liam looked up with narrow eyes.

"Not on your life, monster."

Alexis grimaced as she struggled to push herself up onto her knees and the hip sent a protesting shot of pain through her bones.

"Please, father. Let him in. He's not our enemy." Alexis reached out and grasped the lapel of Liam's cassock as he knelt next to her. He scowled at her and then glanced over his shoulder at the vampire.

"Very well," he said in a grudging voice. He made a gesture and a brief flash of light, like a camera bulb going off signaled the fall of the wards.

Alucard strode over the grass, moving with vampiric speed to Alexis's side. He knelt next to her and reached out to touch her cheek. His gloved fingers trailed down to touch the gauze pad that covered her throat. His lips skimmed back from his teeth in a silent snarl.

"You left the house alone."

"I know. I'm sorry, Alucard. It was the dumbest thing I've ever done, but Father Kilduff helped me. He drove Stratonice off and bandaged me up."

"She bit you." The vampire's red eyes flashed with livid, possessive anger. Alexis closed her eyes and nodded.

A gun shot rang out and Alexis's eyes flew open to see Liam drop next to her, a dark, wet stain spreading over the front of his Cossack. At first, she thought Alucard had shot him, but the vampire was on his feet, facing away from her.

He had his feet planted in a wide stance, his gun trained on the center of a crowd of bodies that had suddenly appeared at the edges of the parking lot. Two women stood at its center, one with a smoking revolver in her hand, the other with a massive hand cannon tucked against her shoulder.

"_Yia sou_, Lord Tsepish," Stratonice called out with a manic grin. "It's been too long, Vlad. Far, far too long."

With no more warning than that, Seras pulled the trigger, sending a bevy of semi-automatic, exploding shells careening at Alucard.


	29. Ch 28: Battle Royal

**Okay, before we get into this, I highly suspect I'm going to get very mixed reviews on this chapter because of Seras. For those of you who don't like what I've done with the character, I will provide this one spoiler. There is no last minute salvation for her in this story. It's how I've written it and I don't plan to change it. Consider yourselves warned.**

**Keep in mind, this is just one story out of hundreds of fanfictions, many of which portray Seras as awesome. Even my other fanfic, Formative Years, gives her good billing. *wink* Like chaos theory, this is just one of limitless possibilities for the continuation of Hellsing. :)**

**Chapter 28: Battle Royal**

"Alucard!"

Alexis had no idea what she could do about the exploding shells Seras had fired. Calling out Alucard's name certainly didn't do a damn thing. It wasn't like he couldn't see them for himself, but the shout escaped her throat anyway.

The vampire in question threw his head back and laughed, clutching at his belly as though the crowd of FREAKs, vampires and ghouls had performed the comedy act of the century. The shells slammed into him, exploding and shredding flesh and bone. Blood sprayed in an arc, flowing over his body in rivulets and his skin hung in ribbons where the explosions ripped him apart. The vampire dropped to his knees, his right leg shattered. He sat back on what was left of his heels, that grin stretching back into a gruesome leer where one of the shells had impacted against his face, shredding his cheek and scorching the side of his head. Gleaming white molars peeked out of the gaping hole in his flesh.

"You should know better, police girl!" Alucard's voice came out distorted by the gaping hole in his face, but there was no mistaking the amusement in his tone. "Your little toy can't defeat me!"

"No, but it can slow you down!"

The younger vampire adjusted her aim and pulled the trigger again.

This time, the shells flew at the fallen priest, bleeding on the ground. With a yelp, Alexis scrambled for the man, a vague idea to pull him out of harm's way forming in her head even though she knew she'd never be fast enough.

Liam twitched, one hand clenching and a wall of dirt, grass and roots sprang up from the ground. The shells impacted against the wall, exploding harmlessly and spraying dirt and plant matter in a dusty cloud.

"Fool!" Stratonice roared, snatching the cannon from Seras's hands. She held it like it was carved from Styrofoam. "If you harm the Ambrosian, I will make a necklace of your entrails every day for the next millennium!"

"Wow. Graphic," Alexis said, fumbling for the buttons that held Liam's cassock closed. She had thought he died immediately since the stain had spread over the vicinity of his chest. Alucard's laugh echoed over the churchyard as the vampire dissolved into shadow, a hundred red eyes opening in the inky darkness.

Liam grunted as Alexis pulled the cassock open. The black shirt underneath showed a distinct rip where the bullet passed through, less than an inch from the edge of his heart. With trembling fingers, Alexis touched the flesh under his shirt and found it whole and unblemished.

She scowled and looked up at the priest with an arched eyebrow. He grinned back.

"It takes a bit out o' me, but the power of the alchemy heals me faster than any normal person."

"You could have _told_ me! I thought she killed you!"

"The subject never came up," Liam said with a grin. He rolled to his side and coughed like a chain smoker with emphysema. A gob of blood and mucus splattered on the grass. Alexis reached for him but held back as he reached up to wipe his lips.

"Much better. Just had to clear the lungs." He looked up and flung a hand out as a small group of vampires and FREAKs rushed at them. The pale skinned creatures bounced off of the sudden barrier that glowed a faint blue in the darkness. They fell back, screaming in a chorus of high pitched keens. One of the vampires burst into flame and stumbled away, howling in agony. Beyond the barrier, the writhing shadows that had been a red-clad vampire lashed out at the veritable army of undead that had descended on them while Alexis was distracted by Liam's wound.

"What was that?" Alexis asked, eyes widening as she watched vampires scatter away from the one engulfed in flames. It keened and stumbled. One more step sent it collapsing to its knees and it keeled over on its side, reduced in moments to a pile of smoldering ash.

"Holy ward," Liam said with a smile. "God's got a particular grudge against that one."

The priest winked and heaved himself to his feet. He reached down to help Alexis to stand.

"I've got the girl, vampire! I'll keep her safe. You take care of the rest!"

Several eyes in the inky darkness that was Alucard blinked at them and a pair of snarling hound's snouts formed out of the shadows. Each head sported a row of four pairs of eyes and ropes of saliva draped from the gleaming teeth of the nightmare beast. One head snarled at the crowd of undead while the other leaped away from the mass of shadows, forming into its own creature as it latched onto the arm of a vampire unlucky enough to be in its way. The creature screamed as the massive jaws bit down, the crunch of breaking bone clearly audible over the growls of the beast.

The shadow hound scrabbled at the body of the unlucky vampire, shredding it as jagged tendrils of darkness spiked out to consume the creature. The other hound pulled its form from the nightmarish splotch of shadows covered in red eyes, teeth gnashing and slavering after the horde of undead. The remaining shadows dissolved into a smaller horde of bats, winging up into the night as the second hound ripped into the crowd.

Alexis blinked at the red eyes staring out of the shadow forms as they shredded undead flesh and consumed their way through the horde. Her mind struggled with the impossible sight and she flashed on the passage in Revelation that described the seraphim that sat at the foot of God's throne. With six wings and covered in eyes, she'd never quite been able to imagine what they must look like…until now.

Like a dark seraphim, Alucard chewed, clawed and consumed his way through the crowd, morphing from shadow creatures to insanely grinning vampire and back again with an ease that defied explanation.

A snarl to her right drew Alexis's attention away from the carnage and the holy ward flickered around her and the priest. Father Kilduff clenched his gloved fist and crossed himself. His eyes closed and he made a pulling motion with the clenched fist. The holy barrier flared around them, lines of faint, pale blue electricity racing over its surface.

The snarling vampire that had hit the shield let out a screaming yelp and burst into flames, careening away from the priest. Liam grinned.

"Big man upstairs didn't like that one, either."

Alexis couldn't help herself. A small laugh escaped between her lips. Liam smiled at her over his shoulder and then shifted his attention back to the creatures surrounding them.

A lithe figure with pronounced cleavage stepped out of the crowd. Piercing blue eyes bled to red as they watched and Seras hefted a semiautomatic rifle to her shoulder.

"A holy barrier won't stop a bullet, priest. Let's see if you can build your dirt wall and keep that barrier up at the same time," Seras called out, an evil glint in her eyes.

Alexis dropped to her knees again as the vampire pulled the trigger, aiming for Liam's head. She was already down before she realized she should have stayed standing. Stratonice didn't want _her_ dead. She could effectively act as a human shield…theoretically. Luckily, the priest didn't need her help as he gestured and a layer of dust particles similar to what he'd used against Alucard formed just under the faintly flowing blue barrier.

Seras's bullets ricocheted off the paper-thin shield, flying back to riddle the crowd of vampires with the silver alloyed slugs. Several screams broke out and a couple of bodies collapsed into dust. Seras's eyes flew wide, rage and madness sparking in their red depths. She hefted the assault rifle, snarling as she used the butt of the gun to smash at the shield. With every blow, a fine smattering of cracks appeared in the shield like shattered safety glass. Liam grimaced, rushing to repair the shield between blows. Sweat broke out on his forehead as he manipulated the energies that kept the molecules together to form the impenetrable barrier.

"Damn you!" Seras screamed, her face contorting in a rictus of rage. "Coward! Come out of your shell and face me!"

She smashed the butt of the gun into the shield again and a visible dent appeared in the shattered surface. Liam hissed through his teeth and twisted his right hand that controlled the holy ward. It pulsed and pressed outward, leaving a half meter of space between it and the dust shield.

Seras screamed as she fell back, the faint blue barrier flickering where her flesh touched it. She dropped and rolled away to escape it. Some of the vampires in the crowd around them weren't so lucky and they fell away from the ward, screaming as flames engulfed them.

Seras sprang to her feet, snarling with fangs bared. She couldn't strike the physical shield with any force unless she allowed her flesh to cross the holy barrier, now. Snugging the gun up against her shoulder, she opened fire on them, fighting to punch a hole through the dust motes with the force of the bullets, heedless of where the ricocheted slugs might land.

Liam's breath quickened, the collar of his cassock darkening as it soaked up the sweat pouring down his face. How long could he keep the barriers up?

Alexis struggled to her feet beside the priest, touching his shoulder to help hold her balance.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"If only there were," Father Liam said from between clenched teeth. He'd never tested the dust shield against a high-capacity assault rifle. He knew it worked against normal rifles, hand guns and even minor explosions, but the repetitive strikes from the bullets strained the molecular bonds that he fought to maintain.

Finally, Seras clicked empty and with a snarl, she yanked the magazine out of the gun and fetched a new one from the belt at her waist. Liam took advantage of the pause to pull more molecules of dirt from the ground and reinforce the shield.

Seras reloaded with preternatural vampiric speed and brought the gun up faster than Liam expected. He jerked his arm in a truncated motion and the dust shield solidified in time to deflect the spat of three bullets but it cost him in raw energy that pulled from his personal reserves.

The priest gasped and dropped to one knee. For a split second, the dust shield dissipated into floating specks, winking like distant stars in the faint glow of the holy ward. The next spat of bullets slipped through the shield, two of them whizzing past Alexis's shoulder, but the third skimmed her flesh, cutting a bloody furrow in the skin.

"Shit!"

Her hand clapped over the wound as pain flared down her arm. She knew it wasn't serious, just a flesh wound, but it stung horribly. Liam's shoulders jerked and the shield solidified, sending the next spat of bullets back into the crowd and dusting one of the vampires battling the red-eyed shadow hounds.

"Imbecile!"

Seras's body convulsed as Stratonice appeared behind her, a pale hand with long, blood-red nails wrapping around the blond vampire's neck. Stratonice lifted the younger, smaller vampire into the air, her lips pulled back from her fangs in a snarling rictus.

"You dare to aim your weapon at _my_ Ambrosian? Vile, wretched _child_! Do not think for one moment that I will hesitate to destroy you!"

Seras convulsed in the grip of the older vampire and snarled, her eyes livid with rage. The rifle dropped from her hands as her left arm bled to shadows, curling in a mesmerizing spiral dance.

"Turncoat!" she screamed. "We agreed, the Ambrosian is the key to his destruction! She has to die! If Alucard survives, the blood he spills will be on _your_ hands!

Alexis glanced around, realizing the rest of the brawl had settled down to a pair of red-eyed shadow hounds and a battlefield of torn earth and dust.

Somehow, she'd missed the destruction of the rest of the vampires…or had they retreated? She had no idea.

Stratonice's dark, crazed laugh echoed out over the churchyard grounds. She shook Seras like a scruffed puppy.

"_I_ am the master here, you witless harpy! If I choose to change the rules, then the rules will be changed and _you_ will obey!"

"No!" Seras's scream came out choked but defiant. "You can't back down, now, just because you want her blood. She's a cold blooded murderer! She has to die so Alucard can be destroyed!"

Seras writhed in Stratonice's grip, struggling to break free of the hold. Shadows snaked out to wrap around the older vampire, seeking to consume her.

Stratonice's lips peeled back from her fangs in an angry snarl. Her eyes narrowed and with a movement faster than Alexis's eyes could follow, she plunged her hand through Seras's chest.

The blond vampire choked and convulsed as Stratonice's hand burst through her sternum, clutching a handful of dark tissue that streamed gouts of blood down both of their bodies. Seras's read eyes flew wide and slowly faded back to that brilliant shade of blue. Stratonice's hand convulsed, crushing the tissues and sending another gout of blood streaming down their bodies.

Dark tendrils of shadow danced around Stratonice's head as Seras's body crumbled to ash in her grasp. A soft breeze picked it up, billowing in a cloud of dust past the figure of a red-clad vampire watching the proceedings with scarlet eyes glowing like banked coals.

"Never one to preserve your minions if they didn't dance to your tune, eh Stratonice?" Alucard cocked his head to the side as he examined his old mentor. Alexis looked between them, a little shell shocked that _Stratonice_ had killed Seras when she'd expected Alucard to do it.

"You're one to talk, Vlad Tsepish. I never knew you to hesitate to impale anyone that betrayed you."

Alucard's lips pulled back in a proud, manic grin. He bowed, acknowledging such acts and his perfectly willing role in them with a single movement.

"It's been centuries since we faced one another, my old comrade. Did you enjoy your stay in the chamber I prepared for you? Exactly how long did it take for your body to slide down that stake until your feet touched solid ground again?"

Stratonice snarled at the red-clad vampire, her scarlet eyes flashing in the shadows.

"You know exactly what I suffered, you Judas! If you think the pain you delighted in inflicting on those that betrayed you so long ago can in any way compare to what I intend to do to you, then you are a fool!"

Alucard's laugh burst forth from his throat, his head thrown back in utter amusement. The sound echoed around them as he clutched at his belly as though the sheer hilarity of her threats made his body ache with laughing.

"Come, then. I set you on a stake to rot the centuries away in the heart of a mountain. Let's see if you can visit it back upon me!"

Stratonice launched herself at Alucard and Alexis felt her stomach lurch. Could he take the ancient vampire on? Startonice had a thousand years on him…but he'd beaten her before, right? She had to have confidence in his abilities.

Alucard opened his arms as Stratonice barreled into him, his grin stretching impossibly wide across his face. Together, they dissolved into a mass of struggling shadows, teeth and red eyes. Unholy shrieks rent the night and blood fountained through the air in a glittering spray.

Swallowing back her fear, Alexis limped toward Father Liam. The priest knelt on the ground, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath.

"They don't play, do they?" He gave her a wavering smile as the snarling of battling vampires echoed around them. Alexis glanced over her shoulder and had to look away again as the nightmarish vision turned her stomach. Maggots and centipedes littered the ground, soaked in blood and thicker things. Shadowy tendrils writhed over flesh shredded like ground beef and skin hanging in tatters over glistening white bone.

"He's a vampire," Alexis muttered to herself. "It can't kill him." Now if only her stomach believed that too…and her heart.

Father Liam heaved himself to his feet, his eyes locked on the colossal struggle. Alexis didn't know how he could stand to look and his eyes held a decidedly haunted quality when he glanced at her.

"What can we do to help, father?" Alexis glanced at the battle again and winced away. A great, gaping mouth, thick with pointy teeth snarled up out of the shadows. A pair of livid red eyes glared out of the yawning gullet before a thick tendril crashed into the mouth, shattering it and sending teeth skipping across the ground.

"Best I can think of is to get out of the way." Even as he spoke, the priest put thought to action as he stooped to scoop Alexis up. She squeaked in surprise as he tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and sprinted for the doors of the church. Alexis grunted and winced as pain flared out from her still-healing hip. She grabbed for the back of Liam's cassock to steady herself and looked up in time to see a white object streaming strands of black silk fly out of the maelstrom. It hit the ground with a wet squelch and rolled, the black strands whirling around it like a cloud of fine threads. The thing tumbled to a stop, wedged against the base of a tree and Alexis's heart stopped at the sight of Alucard's eyes staring at her out of a face gone slack with death.

"No! Alucard!" She struggled in the priest's grasp, desperate to get loose. "Stop! Go back. Go back!" Tears streamed down her cheeks while she struggled, choking back sobs as Liam cleared the doorway of the church. He stumbled as she thrashed and ended up dumping her on a pew set against the wall of the church's front foyer.

"Calm down, child! You can't do anything for him!" Liam pushed her against the back of the pew, hiccupping as tears poured down her face. She couldn't push away the vision of Alucard's severed head.

"He's dead! He can't be, but he's dead!" Alexis pressed her fists into her roiling gut, rocking in an attempt to ease the pain that clutched her.

"He's not!" Liam growled it, his green eyes intense and picking up a touch of their own glow. "The sounds of fighting would have stopped if he were dead!"

The priest's logic pierced her haze of pain and Alexis blinked at him through her tears.

"Help him!" She grabbed for the front of his cassock, twisting the cloth in her grip. "Damn, you, _help him_!"

"Ay. Working on it, now. Just you stay there, girl. He can't concentrate if he's worried what might happen to you." With his expressive face set in a determined grimace, Liam extricated himself from her grasp and dashed further into the church. Alexis whirled to stare out of the foyer's window at the raging battle.

"Don't you _dare_ lose to her!" she growled at the window. "Don't let her defeat you, damn it!  
Even if you have to run, don't you dare die!"

Out in the churchyard, the shadows clashed, roiling like competing clouds of noxious smoke. Light flashed within the darkness, first here and then there. A great, snarling wolf's head formed out of the mists, dribbling ropes of saliva from its slavering jaws. A mane of shadows covered in red, glowing eyes trailed behind it.

A shadowy, hooded cobra reared up to meet it, two glowing red eyes glaring out of each side of the hood, the pupils little more than a tapered line down the center of the iris.

The cobra lunged and latched onto the wolf's head. Both creatures melted back into the shadowy maelstrom as new creatures formed from the shadows, many of them only possible in deepest, darkest nightmare.

Alexis wished she had any idea who was winning. She assumed the more serpentine shadows belonged to Stratonice, but she hoped she was wrong. The serpentine creatures seemed to have the upper hand every time she spotted a corporeal clash. Not good. Not good at all.

"Father Liam! Where are you?!"

"Almost done." Alexis jumped when his voice came from just behind her. She'd thought he was deeper in the church.

"Can't you just drive her away?" She glared at the priest, willing him to find a way to help her vampire. Liam shook his head and made a gesture at the window. A line of glowing blue symbols appeared and then faded.

"Anything I do to drive her away will send him with it. They're too closely entwined."

A loud thunder clap echoed around the churchyard and Alexis cursed, turning back to the battle. A dozen serpentine heads writhed through the shadows and the flashes of light came fast and faster. The dueling vampires looked like nothing so much as a vicious storm brewing on the horizon but with a ferocity straight out of the depths of Hell.

"Do you think he'd be willing to flee?" Liam asked from beside her.

"I hope so," Alexis said, cringing as the serpentine shadows crashed down like a hydra snatching at a hapless hero. Liam dashed toward the door and pulled it open.

"The wards are reset, vampire! Ye can enter the church but _she_ can't!"

"Run, Alucard!" Alexis screamed. "Damn your pride and mine! Get your undead ass in here!"

A second clap of thunder ripped through the night and the lower portion of the dark cloud exploded into a massive horde of flapping bats. They whirled up and around the eaves of the church before diving down to stream through the door that Liam held open. Alexis swallowed hard as she watched the remaining shadows boil down into Stratonice's statuesque form.

The ancient vampire's eyes flared a brilliant red as she glared at the window where Alexis watched, her heart beating out a terrified tattoo. Behind her, the cloud of bats flew haphazardly around the foyer, crashing into things and wreaking total havoc.

"Begone, devil! You can't enter here!" Father Liam shouted. Stratonice ignored him, instead glaring through the window at Alexis, her eyes glowing a brilliant scarlet.

Alexis felt caught like a bug under a microscope. That gaze bored into her and her breathing picked up, edging toward hyperventilation. A sharp, throbbing pain erupted behind her right eye and Alexis cried out, stumbling as their gazes broke. Liam rushed toward her as the bats whirling about the room started diving toward a central point. They coalesced, merging together like drops of water until they formed into a broken, red-clad body laying face down on the floor. Long, white hair with a silver cast to it trailed from the head, splayed across the honey-colored wood like trickles of spun moonlight.

Alucard groaned and attempted to push himself up. His arms trembled and he coughed, a wet, broken sound. Blood spattered across the honeyed wood floor, pouring from his lips as he collapsed over onto his side. His wide, red eyes stared at Alexis in confused shock as blood trickled from his pale lips.

"Alucard!" She shrieked his name, the enemy outside, the pain in her head and the priest trying to help her all forgotten as she scrabbled down off the pew and across the floor. Her hip flared in protest at the jostling but she didn't care. She had to get to her vampire!

"Alexis, don't!" Father Liam protested, throwing out a hand. "He'll bite you!"

"I don't care!" Alexis snarled, collapsing next to the vampire. Blood soaked into her shirt and jeans as she reached for him. He blinked, his eyes focusing on her.

"I am not defeated. _She_ cannot defeat me." He said it with certain arrogance, even as the words gurgled out of lungs thick with blood. A sound that was half laugh, half sob burst from between Alexis's lips and she smiled at his familiar cockiness.

"Of course she can't," Alexis said as she reached out to grasp a handful of shirt, duster and cravat. "You're _my_ vampire."

She tugged, trying to pull him toward her, but getting more success in pulling herself to him. No matter, so long as she closed the distance between them.

She tucked herself in against his front and sank her fingers into that thick, silky white hair. She could ask him, later, why it turned white like that. She tightened her grip and pulled him close to press his lips against her throat. She didn't have to say a thing as those lips skinned back from the lethally sharp points beneath. The vampire sank fangs into her throat and pain ripped through her, closely followed by a wash of ecstasy that rolled her eyes up in the back of her head.

Alucard drew hard on the wound and a stab of pain reached through the ecstasy. Alexis made a sound low in her throat, part groan and part choke, but she didn't push him away. He needed this.

Alucard's arms curled around her shoulders, holding her against his chest. Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked as Father Liam's visage sharpened into focus. He looked so sad.

"Don't worry, father," she said, her voice little more than a choked whisper. "I won't become a ghoul."

"Of that, I have no doubt," he said and the sadness in his face echoed in his voice, "but you've already lost blood today and he's like a babe with a teat. He'll not let you go until you're drained dry."

Alucard's jaw tightened on her throat as he sucked in another mouthful of blood and she felt a small spurt of adrenaline at the thought of her impending death. She didn't _want_ to die, but already she could feel the paralysis bought on by his venom coursing through her veins. She struggled to maintain her hold on the vampire's duster but her fingers loosened, dropping away to flop lifelessly at her sides. Her vision began to blur and she took a deep breath.

"Don't kill me, Alucard. That's an order."

A moment later, darkness consumed her.

**A/N: So, I swear I did not mean to have so many cliffhangers. Really. It's just how I write. I promise! My books are the same way, but they don't get posted a chapter at a time… In my defense, there won't be a cliffhanger at the end of the entire story? *ducks and runs from everyone that hates cliffhangers***


	30. Ch 29: The Vampire's Idea

**Yay. Almost there. Three more chapters and an epilogue after this one. I realized today that I'll be posting the last of this story on my birthday, July 18. I think I like that for a birthday present. Don't forget I adore reviews! Hugs!**

**Chapter 29: The Vampire's Idea**

Liam's hands twitched with the urge to grab Alexis and send holy power coursing through her to throw the vampire off of her. Unfortunately, those fangs ripping out of her throat would tear a gaping hole in her flesh and send her life's blood pumping out onto the floor of the foyer. All he had was the slim hope that the vampire would release her before her heart gave out.

He watched her hands fall limp at her sides and her eyes flutter closed. Still, the vampire fed and the priest's gut clenched, convinced she wouldn't survive this. Her skin grew pale and her breathing slowed. Alucard's shoulders shifted and his head lifted. Liam pushed away from the wall, hope fluttering in his belly.

"Take her away. The other side of the room." Alucard's voice came out rough and strained. Heedless of his own danger, Liam rushed to pick the girl up, cradling her against his chest as he crossed the foyer to lay her out on a pew. The vampire stayed where he was, kneeling on the floor, head bowed.

"You're still hungry, aren't you, vampire?" Liam made sure that Alexis rested comfortably and turned to look at the creature kneeling on the floor of his church. A low chuckle bubbled up out of the monster's throat. It raised the hairs on the back of Liam's neck. That black-capped head lifted and a single glowing red eye peered at him through the soot-colored strands of hair.

"I am _always_ hungry, priest."

Liam drew himself up, glaring down his nose at the vampire.

"Well, you'll find no more, here. She has given you all she can spare."

"I know that better than you do, _father_," Alucard said, emphasizing the title in a less than respectful tone of voice. Liam ignored him, unperturbed by the subtle slur.

"It's still not certain she'll make it." The priest perched on the edge of the pew next to the girl and pressed his fingers into her wrist. He didn't want to press on her throat, with wounds on both sides, but he managed to locate her pulse in her wrist. It fluttered against his fingers, weak but distinct.

"She will survive," Alucard said, rising to his feet. "She is not so weak as you believe."

Father Liam gave the vampire a narrow look and made a show of examining the newest fang marks in her flesh. They were surprisingly small and neat, with none of the tearing and bleeding he had expected. He reached out and ran a gentle finger over the bite. It came back clean with no trace of blood.

Alucard chuckled and stalked across the floor, the tilt of his shoulders giving the impression of a predator on the trail of especially tasty prey. Liam scowled and made a gesture with his right hand. A faintly glowing blue shield sprang up around him and Alexis, arcs of electricity crackling over it. Alucard stopped and his grin grew wide.

"Will it be a stand-off between us until she wakes?" he asked, gesturing at Alexis. "What, then? Stratonice will recover and return to steal her, eventually. You can cower behind your wards indefinitely but Alexis will need care…food, water, rest."

Liam narrowed his eyes at the vampire. He didn't truly trust the creature, but he couldn't ignore the fact that Alucard had fought in Alexis's defense and the girl obviously trusted and even cared for the monster. With nothing else to base a determination on, he decided to trust the creature…with some reservations.

"I suppose you have an idea?"

Alucard eyed the holy ward that Liam had pointedly left standing between them.

"We need to return to Hellsing. You can set your wards there and Alexis can rest and recover. More importantly, the records that document the Hellsing seal are there."

"Hellsing seal?"

Alucard turned to gaze out of the front window.

"It is an alchemical binding…one that gives me power that no vampire can hope to achieve alone. It will give me the power that I need to destroy Stratonice."

Liam tilted his head to the side, giving the vampire a considering look.

"Alchemy, is it?" A wide smile spread across the priest's face. "I might be able to help with that."

-ssSSss—

A throbbing pain just between her eyes brought Alexis up out of a deep sleep. She groaned and rolled over, wincing away from the candelabra full of small, bright flames that assaulted her light sensitive eyes. It took a moment for her brain to catch up on her latest memories. There was the battle with Stratonice, the sight of Alucard's severed head rolling across the ground and then the bats, the blood-drenched vampire and fangs in her throat. She drew in a sharp breath and reached up to touch the side of her neck. It felt tender and she could feel the indentations where Alucard's fangs had pierced her but they were small and the pain was nothing next to Stratonice's bite on the other side or the ache in her head.

"Awake, eh? You'll be thirsty, I'd guess. There's a bottle of water and another of Gatorade on the table beside yeh."

Alexis frowned and rubbed her eyes. She blinked and squinted at the black-clad priest sitting in a wingback chair next to the fireplace in the bedroom of her master suite. The filing cabinet full of journals that she'd last seen in Alucard's basement room sat next to him.

"How did we get here?" Liam smiled at her.

"I drove us here, with instructions from your vampire."

"Alucard!" Alexis tried to sit up and fresh pain stabbed through her head. She fell back against the pillow with a groan. "Where is he?"

"Ah…sleeping, I believe. He brought the journals up here and then returned to the basement."

Feeling suddenly parched, Alexis rolled over and grabbed the bottle of water. She unscrewed the cap and gulped down half the contents. Releasing her suction on the opening with a loud crack, she took a deep breath followed by another, smaller sip.

"How is he?"

Liam chuckled as she took another drink and reached out to pull the Gatorade bottle to her.

"In better straits than you, I think. He seemed almost chipper when he went to bed. Well…maybe 'chipper' isn't the right word. Smug might be better."

Alexis chuckled as she finished off the water and unscrewed the cap on the Gatorade. She took a swig and smiled.

"Yeah. That sounds like him. So…the two of you have managed to refrain from killing each other?"

"For the time being," Liam said with a low chuckle. Alexis took another drink and stared toward the windows on the far side of the room.

"Any sign of Stratonice?"

Father Liam sighed and set the book he'd been reading aside.

"Thankfully, no, and I've warded this house so she can't get in."

Alexis nodded, still staring out the window. Silence fell between them as she sipped at her Gatorade. Liam waited, suspecting she wasn't done. After a couple of minutes, she glanced at him.

"We can't hide in here forever," she said. Liam nodded.

"You're right and your vampire agrees."

Alexis sighed.

"Do you think he lost because fighting all the others exhausted him? Or…or is she really that much stronger than him?"

"He didn't lose," Liam said, pushing himself to his feet. "He performed a strategic retreat. I understand, now, who and what he is. This isn't his first time battling a superior force. We have options available to us, but I'm going to let him explain it. I'm still a little fuzzy on the details, myself. In the mean time, I'll get you something to eat. Your body needs it."

"Father Liam…ah…" The priest paused on his way to the door, casting a questioning look over his shoulder. "You…ah…you keep saying 'us' and 'we'. You don't actually have to be part of this, you know. You could just leave."

Liam lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Could I? After driving Stratonice away from you and protecting you and your vampire from her, do you honestly think she'll let me go my merry way?"

Alexis shook her head and glared at him.

"You can protect yourself from her. I've seen it. Don't misunderstand. I _want_ you to stay. I'd really like you to become my estate manager and help me restore this place to its former glory, but if you feel like you _must_ work for me, you won't do nearly as good a job as you will if you _want_ to be here. I just want you to know that you can walk away from this, now, and no hard feelings. However, if you choose to stay, I _will_ expect it to be under permanent employment…and utter loyalty."

Liam grinned.

"I'll extend the same loyalty that is given to me and I would be happy to be your estate manager. This is so much more fun than church paperwork and I don't get threatened for practicing my favorite hobby."

Alexis smiled back, a small knot loosening in her belly. She really believed that they needed the priest, but she meant it when she said she didn't think she'd get the same service out of him if he thought he had no choice.

With a sardonic half bow, Liam left and Alexis relaxed back against the cushions, watching the light outside brightening with the coming dawn.

-ssSSss—

Liam brought her a breakfast of fried eggs, bacon, sausage, sliced tomatoes and baked beans. She didn't think she had any hope of eating it all until she took the first bite. As soon as she swallowed, her stomach seemed to wake up to the possibility of food and it howled for more. Unabashedly, she tucked in, eating as fast as she could without spilling it all down her front.

Finishing the last bite, she resisted the urge to lick the plate clean and looked up at Liam.

"That was great! You didn't tell me you could cook."

Liam chuckled and grinned as he took the plate from her.

"I am a tolerable cook at best, but as my grandmother used to say, 'hunger is the tastiest spice known to man or beast'."

"Okay. Point taken," Alexis said with a sheepish smile. "Now, I think I want a bath. This suite has the most amazing looking Jacuzzi tub and I still haven't gotten to try it out."

Liam laughed.

"Let me take those dishes down to the kitchen and I'll help you with the bath."

"Uh, I think I can at least _bathe_ myself," Alexis said with some consternation. Liam cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I'm sure you can, but how were you planning to get to the bathroom?"

Alexis scowled and looked around the room. "My crutches should be…" She drooped as she remembered the last time she'd seen them…wedged against the seat of the moving truck. "I'm supposed to be putting weight on my bad leg anyway. I'll manage."

"Very well," Liam said as he carried her dishes out the door. The look on his face didn't seem very confident in her success.

Determined to make it to the bathroom, Alexis worked her way out of bed and limped across the room. The pain in her hip wasn't as bad as she expected but the sheer exhaustion of crossing the room on her own left her gasping for breath as she perched on the edge of the tub. She thought about the effort of undressing and fetching a towel and almost gave up. But, no. She refused to let her weakness defeat her, especially with something so mundane as a bath.

Gritting her teeth, Alexis leaned over to start the water running. Once she got in the bath, she could relax and that was worth the effort. She removed what clothes she could while still sitting and then pulled herself to a standing position with the help of the wall and a towel rack. Doffing her pants, she limped across the room to retrieve a towel from the cabinet. By the time she made it back to the tub, she could barely think for the pounding in her head.

"My kingdom for some pain killers," she muttered as she hooked the towel over the rack and collapsed on the side of the tub. Gratefully, she swiveled on the edge of the tub and slid into the warm water. Sighing in relief, she turned the faucet off and pressed the button to start the jets. The rumble of the apparatus started up and the massaging currents roiled through the water. With another sigh, Alexis settled back against the tub and let her eyelids drift closed.

"Alexis? Alexis, answer me or I'm coming in there!"

Alexis jerked as her eyes flew open. The jets had fallen silent and the water was lukewarm at best. She lifted a hand to find the skin wrinkled and pale.

"What the hell?" she muttered. The last thing she remembered was closing her eyes for a moment. She hadn't thought she was exhausted enough to fall asleep in the tub.

"Alexis?"

"Err…yeah. Sorry, Liam. I'm okay. Just fell asleep for some reason," she called out, pitching her voice so he'd hear it on the other side of the door.

"Do you need any help?"

Alexis frowned. Liam might be a priest, but that didn't mean she wanted him seeing her naked. Still, she'd exhausted herself to the point of falling asleep in the tub just by walking across a room on her own.

"I…don't know. Would you be willing to wait for me?"

"Of course. I'll be out here, reading. Call if you need me."

She heard his footsteps on the tile floors of the bedroom as he returned to the wingback chair beside the fireplace. Alexis sighed and leaned forward to drain the tub and refill it with fresh, hot water. She still needed to get _clean_ after all.

She managed to complete her bath without falling asleep again, and even pulled herself to her feet, but a wave of dizziness swept over her as she contemplated stepping over the rim of the tub to the bathroom floor. Falling flat on her face didn't appeal in the least, but staring at the marble floor, slick from splashes of water and soap, falling suddenly became a real possibility.

Reaching out, she grabbed the towel and wrapped it around herself. That much she could do from her position inside the tub.

"Umm…Father Liam?" She wasn't sure he would answer, but a minute later, she heard his footsteps.

"Alexis?"

"Ah…yeah. You can come in. I think I could use some help getting out of the tub. I don't want to fall."

The door opened and Liam came in, smiling. He maintained eye contact with her, not even allowing himself a glance to assess her state of dress.

"Right, then. Smart of you, I think, not taking the chance." He extended an arm for her to use for balance while keeping the other hand ready to grab her in case she slipped. His smile crinkled the corners of his eyes but Alexis noticed the dark circles that made him look as tired as she felt.

"Have you gotten any sleep since the fight?" she asked, grasping his arm and using his steady stance to step out of the tub. To her relief, she didn't slip although the wet marble felt freezing cold under her feet.

"Just some dozing in the chair," he said with a smile. Alexis sighed.

"You need sleep too. Help me to the bed and bring me some water and the journal that I had dog-eared from downstairs. After that, I order you to find the room Ellis left open when they were cleaning and get some sleep."

Liam's smile widened and he chuckled.

"Yes, ma'am."

-ssSSss—

Alexis woke, later, with an open journal on her lap and the last of the setting sun casting squares of orange light on the room's curtains. She groaned and rolled over, her back protesting. She hated sleeping on her back because it made her spine ache. How had she fallen asleep _again_? The snake bite barely hurt anymore unless she tried to flex that muscle. What else could cause such lethargy? And then, she remembered that she'd been fed on the day before…twice.

"At least the headache is gone," she muttered as she set the journal aside and reached for the bottle of water on the bedside table. The blood loss would also explain her seemingly constant thirst. Unscrewing the cap, she took a deep swig. Putting it back, she flicked the lamp on and reached for the journal. To her surprise, she found a book next to it. This one wasn't like the journals. They were little more than printed sheets in three-ring binders. This book actually _looked_ like a book with a rich brown leather cover, cracked and worn with age. A bookmark ribbon, stitched into the binding, peeked out of the bottom of the book. It didn't have a title on the cover, just a name written in calligraphy on the bottom right-hand corner. Van Helsing.

Frowning, Alexis picked the book up and opened it to the marked page. A hand-drawn symbol with concentric circles, strange letters that didn't exist in the English alphabet and a star at its center graced the top of the page. The writing below it consisted of English words, but might as well have been Greek for all the sense it made.

_ In the sea without lees  
Standeth the bird of Hermes  
Eating his wings variable  
And maketh himself yet full stable.  
When all his feathers be from him gone  
He standeth still here as a stone.  
Here is now both white and red  
And all so the stone to quicken the dead  
All and some without fable  
Both hard and soft and malleable  
Understand now well and right  
And thank you God of this sight._

_ The bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to make me tame._

"What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Liam would understand it better than you."

Alexis jumped and a grin spread across her face. She knew that voice even though it had startled her.

"Alucard."

The vampire rose from the chair next to the fireplace, that patent grin stretching across his face. Alexis couldn't believe how happy she was to see him.

"How are you?" It might be a silly question to ask a walking dead man, but she couldn't help herself. Alucard's grin widened to show fangs and he crossed the room to sit on the edge of her bed.

"A good day's sleep in my native earth and a belly full of Ambrosian blood." He reached out to trace a gloved finger over the marks he'd left on the side of her neck. Alexis shivered and it wasn't from pain. "I am excellent."

Alexis chuckled.

"I see there's no doubt about that. So, what _is_ this and why does it feel like I'm reading the memoires of someone who started writing English after giving the language little more than a passing glance?"

Alucard laughed and took the book from her.

"This is Van Helsing's record of the Hellsing seal."

Alexis frowned at the book. The journals she had been reading talked about the seal. They mentioned the reason for it and what it did to control Alucard, but didn't go into detail about how it had been performed.

"The reason it doesn't make sense to you is because most alchemy texts were couched in terms that only an alchemist would understand, a sort of cipher. Some of that knowledge could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands, so alchemists of the day used such a method to communicate with one another without the risk of the communication being useful if stolen."

"I guess that makes sense, but why was it on my bed?"

"Because you will need to recreate it."

Alexis blinked, not certain she'd heard him right. How could she recreate something she couldn't even begin to understand? More importantly…_why_? Did Alucard want to try to capture Stratonice and bind her as he'd once been bound? Alexis honestly wasn't sure what she thought about that idea.

A knock came at the door before Alexis managed to formulate a response. Her heart leapt up in her throat for a moment before she remembered that they had another person living in the house with them, now.

"Yes?"

"Alexis? May I come in?" Liam's voice came through the door, muffled but unmistakable.

"Sure, yeah."

The door opened and Liam glanced around before coming into the room. He looked considerably more rested than before her nap. Better yet, he had a tray of food in his hands. Alexis's stomach let out an audible howl and man and vampire laughed as she flushed with embarrassment.

"Yeah. Ha, ha. Very funny. Bring me the food and pull up a chair."

Still chuckling, Liam did as he was told and Alexis picked the sandwich up from the tray he placed on her lap. She took a bite and sighed as the taste of buttered toast, lettuce, tomato and bacon flooded her mouth. She chewed and swallowed, then forced herself to put the sandwich down while she reached for her water bottle.

"Okay, Alucard. Explain. _Why_ do I need to recreate the Hellsing seal? And who are you wanting me to put it on?"

Liam looked at Alucard who grinned.

"You'll put it on me, of course. The Hellsing seal did more than lock my powers down and place my control in the hands of a human. It also enhanced those powers through alchemical means. I was truly a creation of Hellsing research and experimentation. With the seal in place, Stratonice will not have a prayer of defeating me."

Alexis took a sip of the water, thinking furiously. Did she _want_ to have that kind of control over Alucard? Maybe. The idea had its good points…and some bad. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of being completely responsible for the vampire's every action. But…did she want Alucard to have the power to crush Stratonice? Most definitely.

"So I would be your master?"

Alucard nodded, the grin never slipping from his face.

"What about Liam? He's the alchemist. Wouldn't it make more sense for him to do the seal? He'd understand it more, be less likely to screw it up."

The grin vanished from Alucard's face as he looked at Liam. The red in his eyes took on a faint glow and his upper lip pulled back in a sneer.

"No. I would kill him if he attempted it," the vampire said with a truly fierce expression on his face.

"You'd try, monster," Liam shot back.

"Don't," Alexis said, drawing their attention back to her. "It was just a suggestion."

She took a bite of sandwich and hid a small smile behind the layers of bacon and bread. For some reason, it pleased her that Alucard wanted _her_ as his master. Okay, so maybe she was more on board with this idea than she thought.

Getting her expression under control, she set the sandwich down and reached for the water again.

"You're certain that the seal will enhance your powers that much?"

Alucard nodded and Alexis took a drink.

"And what would I have to do as your master besides preventing you from wreaking havoc across the countryside with your new power?"

Alucard's grin returned.

"You would command me, as is expected from any master."

"A good, proper master would be expected to feed, clothe and shelter you as well, right?"

Alucard chuckled and spread his gloved hands as though to illustrate that she'd just answered her own question better than he did. Alexis took another drink of water. The more she thought about it, the more she saw the merits in the idea. She'd already been toying with the idea of continuing Hellsing's goals of controlling the supernatural population in England and for that, she'd need the Hellsing trump card. Add to that the fact that she needed Alucard simply to stay alive and the marks against the idea began to dwindle into obscurity.

Alexis gave Alucard a penetrating look, searching his eyes for any hint of fear or uncertainty. She found calm acceptance and even excited anticipation in his expression. He truly _wanted_ her to be his master.

That clenched it.

"Alright. I guess I better start studying up on how to do this and Liam's gonna have to help me. They didn't exactly offer a course on alchemy in school, you know."

**A/N: Yay, no cliffhanger? *grin* I have this obsession with the Hellsing seal. The concept is just soooo much fun! I can't help myself. I think, in my head, poor Alucard is doomed to eternal slavery, one way or another. Luckily, I'm pretty sure he doesn't mind too terribly much. Masochist. *wide grin***


	31. Ch 30: The Seal

**Someone left an anonymous review asking what animes I would recommend for someone that likes Hellsing. Of course, I can't say for certain if anyone else will like stuff that I like but if you haven't seen them, I recommend Trinity Blood, although it's almost a total rip off of Hellsing, but I still like it. Vampire Knight, Black Brotherhood, Kuroshitsuji, although the manga beats the pants off the anime on that one. Kuroshitsuji is also known as Black Butler. And…Blue Exorcist. There are others that I like, but I think those are probably most similar to Hellsing in content. If anyone wants to make a suggestion for me, please do so. :D**

**So…I love this chapter. Had a ball writing it, although I was shocked when I finished typing it and looked down to see that it's around 6500 words. My longest fanfic chapter yet. Lol. Please enjoy.**

**Chapter 30: The Seal**

Alexis sighed and flung her pen across the room. Liam lifted an eyebrow at her as she put her head in her hands.

"None of this makes any sense, at all. The language, alone, seems like complete nonsense, and I _know_ that's the point, but I'm not a code breaker or a linguist!"

"No one is asking you to be," Liam said as he closed the book that he'd been using as an example while he explained things. "All you need to do is perform the actions. I will interpret the journal."

"But I have to have a basic understanding of what's happening or I'll screw something up. I might hurt Alucard." It was her greatest fear.

"You _will_ hurt Alucard. It's part of the binding. There is no avoiding it."

Alexis lifted her head and glared at Liam.

"That's not what I meant, although I don't like _that_ part of it, either. What if I do something wrong and it causes him permanent damage?"

Liam sighed and stood.

"I don't think that will happen, but it's obvious you could use a break. I will make us some tea."

"Thank-you," Alexis said, putting her head in her hands again. She didn't mean to give him a hard time. Liam had already worked virtual miracles for her. Although Ellis had been competent, Liam took to the role of butler and estate manager like a duck to water.

Since the day they had decided to recreate the Hellsing seal, Liam had assessed her finances, drawn up ads for additional staff, managed the repairmen so that the entire house had water, electricity and climate control as well as getting the kitchen up and running including the walk-in refrigerator. He had arranged for delivery of groceries and necessities and put together a fund to help Ellis, who had gotten out of the hospital but wouldn't be able to work for a few months. Alexis felt bad that she hadn't thought about that last thing on her own, but already she was wondering how she would have functioned if she hadn't found Liam. On top of all that, he'd managed to attempt to give her lessons on alchemy and she was tempted to nominate him for sainthood. She couldn't believe it had only been four days since the battle with Stratonice.

Alexis lifted her head and sat back in her chair. Both Liam and Alucard seemed to have utter confidence in her ability to recreate the Hellsing seal, but she couldn't say she agreed with them and therein was the problem. Liam had made it clear that she must _believe_ the seal would work in order for it to do so, and she just didn't. Maybe if Liam was doing it, she might believe. She'd seen proof of his abilities, but she knew for a fact that she had never performed anything magical or alchemical in her life.

Alexis tapped a knuckle on the table in front of her. They had turned the boudoir of her suite into a sort of office cum classroom. She had notes and books strewn over the various surfaces and really needed to let Liam clean it all up again but she had told him to leave it alone. The mess reflected the confusion in her head and she was the only one that could get that organized. She refused to allow Liam to clean until she managed to get her head straight.

It all fell back to faith…something she'd never really had much of. Her faith in God and humanity had died with her baby brother. Her faith in herself had suffered over the course of her life, beaten down by poor decisions and failure. Where, exactly, was she supposed to find this elusive faith?

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Alexis reached out and pulled a notebook over in front of her. It contained instructions for a simple alchemical exercise that would create incandescence in the dust motes around her, if she managed to access the power.

She fully believed that if she accomplished the trick, it would show her that she could perform any alchemy, but she hadn't managed it yet.

"You're waiting for the dust to glow before you believe it _can_ glow, but alchemy doesn't function without faith."

Alexis looked up at the sound of Alucard's voice and winced as he phased through the wall. Although he couldn't help but be aware of her failures, that didn't mean she wanted to dwell on what he must think of her, now. When she failed at the alchemy, she felt like she failed him.

The vampire crossed the room and dropped down into the chair Liam had vacated. His red, piercing eyes studied her.

"That's counterintuitive. How can I know something will work unless I see it work, first?"

Alucard sighed and shook his head.

"You've seen Liam perform alchemy."

"Yeah, but I don't know _how_ he did it. I don't understand it."

"Yes, you do. You simply don't believe _you_ can do it. In your mind, Liam has an additional talent that you do not, but I have seen a sugar pill cure men of everything from gout to blindness, simply because they _believed_ it would."

"That's a psychosomatic response and it's well documented in medical literature, but it doesn't work reliably."

"And so they consider it quackery."

Alexis nodded and sat back, her mind churning. The vampire had a telling point. Liam had mentioned something similar the other day. She had asked him why alchemy was considered a dead science when he was living proof that it was very possible and even powerful. He had chuckled and shaken his head.

"For a scientific hypothesis to be considered proven, it must be repeatable by anyone that follows the steps of the experiment. Because scientists approach experimentation from a position of doubt, no scientist can duplicate an alchemical achievement which requires faith to accomplish. Because scientific method cannot prove alchemy, science considers it false."

It made sense, then and now, but a part of her mind refused to accept it. It was like stepping out of an airplane with a parachute. Intellectually, you knew the parachute would save you, but a bone-deep, instinctive part of your brain screamed that you would _die_ if you took that step. It was the very thrill that adventure seekers grasped for when they did inane things like jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.

"So, because I can't believe without proof, I'll never have proof because I can't _get_ proof without belief." Alexis sighed and rubbed her temple. "My brain hurts."

A soft knock came from the door and Liam entered a moment later with a tea service on a trolley. He glanced at the vampire and rolled his eyes as he pushed the tea service over to the table that served as Alexis's desk. He certainly didn't share Ellis's reserved expressions and attitudes, but Alexis found she liked it that way. Ellis had left her uncertain as to his real opinions and intentions and while she liked him, she'd never felt completely comfortable with him. Liam was another story entirely.

"Today, I've brought a black tea with spearmint," he said, lifting the teapot. He'd quickly learned that although Alexis was English, she wasn't a fan of strong teas. He had almost demanded she surrender her citizenship card when he discovered that, but he had grudgingly stocked the ginger beers and lagers that she did like and seemed determined to find a tea that she could enjoy.

Alexis smirked as he carefully poured two cups and had to admit that she liked the smell of the mint.

"Three sugars," she said and he gave her a dirty look. Liam didn't approve of her sugar addiction, but if he insisted on serving her tea, she wanted it sweet.

"As you wish," he said, dropping the sugar cubes into her cup and stirring them with a small silver spoon. He set the cup in front of her and set the second one on the desk with no additions. It might not be normal for her butler to drink tea with her, but Alexis didn't think of Liam as a normal butler, nor did she want to. He was her friend.

Liam fetched a chair from where it stood against the wall and placed it in front of the table as Alexis stirred her tea. She picked the cup up and took a careful sip.

"Mmm. That's actually good. Let's keep that one."

Liam gave her a smile and sipped at his own tea. Alucard just watched them with hooded eyes.

"So, you interrupted Alucard giving me a headache on the subject of faith."

Liam chuckled as he set his cup down.

"That does seem to be the crux of the problem, doesn't it?"

Alexis took another sip of tea to cover up her lack of a response. Why _did_ she think she couldn't perform alchemy when she'd seen Liam do it? Her first answer was that she never _had_, but that was ridiculous logic. She'd never ridden a camel, but she had no doubt she could if she had to. Of course, millions of people throughout history had ridden camels. The same couldn't be said of alchemy

Setting her cup down with a sigh, she picked up the notebook again. She'd _seen_ it done. Liam's explanation for why most people couldn't do it made sense. Logic was on his side…except that…

Alexis put the notebook down and glared at the priest.

"So. It boils down to this. I don't believe in God. Not anymore. Not after I prayed for my baby brother to survive and he still died. Especially not after the people that killed him and my father got off with a slap on the wrist. A just and merciful God wouldn't allow that."

Liam chuckled and sat back in his chair.

"So it comes down to religious philosophy, eh? Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that argument? God allowed this or that, so He must not exist or must not be good. I don't know the details of what happened to your father and brother. I could tell you that you couldn't know the future or what worse things might have happened to your family had they lived. I could blather on about the power of free will and how the Lord is powerless before the effects of the greatest gift he ever gave mankind, but I don't think I'd get anywhere with that."

Alexis narrowed her eyes at the priest and crossed her arms. He was right. She'd heard it all before and didn't believe a word of it. Liam narrowed his eyes right back at her, not intimidated in the least. He leaned forward in his seat, bracing his elbows against his knees and gave her a smile that bordered on malicious.

"Forget the preaching, proselytizing, evangelism and heartwarming miracle stories people have tried to shove down your throat. Believe only in this. There is a higher power. Good or bad, merciful or cruel, just or otherwise, it exists. Call it what you want. Curse it, praise it, hate it, worship it. Whatever. Simply know that it is there. The things that science cannot explain lie within its purview. Do you honestly believe that your vampire's capabilities fall within the rules that science has set down as absolute?"

Alexis looked at Alucard and slowly shook her head.

"No. Science can't begin to explain him."

Alucard grinned, excessively proud of that fact.

"So, you've seen Liam use the power that you claim you don't believe in," the vampire said with a knowing smirk. "Is that not also counterintuitive?"

Alexis glared back and forth between the man and the vampire. She hated having her own logic thrown back in her face, but Alucard had a point, damn him. So did the priest. If she thought of God as not so much a religious figure, but an amorphous mass of power, waiting to be tapped by the correct actions…and faith…could she embrace that faith?

Looking down, she smoothed a hand over the notebook in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she traced a small symbol on the page with her finger and clenched her fist like Liam had shown her. The room lit up with an ambient glow as every dust mote in the room fluoresced at the same time.

Liam and Alucard grinned at her, their expressions more alike than was strictly comfortable. They could be two sides to the same coin. Alexis flicked a finger in the movement that cancelled the power. The motes of dust winked into darkness and she sat back in her chair.

"Liam, I expect you to devote all of your free time to deciphering that journal. The sooner we complete the seal, the sooner we can track Stratonice down and put her out of our misery."

"As you wish, ma'am."

-ssSSss—

Alexis limped her way down the basement stairs. Her hip still gave her pain but by now it was only a problem with the jarring movement of going up and down stairs. She hadn't bothered to replace the crutches that had stayed behind in the moving truck. They never had found them among the pile of her things that the movers had left in the front foyer.

Liam walked the stairs just in front of her so he could catch her if her hip gave out. She hated that he had to do it but recognized the necessity. Alucard waited for them at the bottom of the stairs.

"You're certain you know where this room is, vampire?" Alucard's eyes flared red at Liam's doubtful tone.

"I know it well, _alchemist_."

"No pissing contests, you two. Alucard, just lead the way," Alexis said with a roll of the eyes. They were like preteen boys, friendly enough even as they tried to show one another up. She'd grouse about feeling like an unappreciated mother if they didn't manage to make her laugh with their antics…most of the time.

Alucard grinned with a flash of fangs and turned to lead them through the warren of corridors that made up the basement. Although the wiring had all been fixed and an inspection performed to confirm the basement and sub-basement were structurally sound, she and Liam hadn't gotten a chance to do much exploring. Alexis mentally put that near the top of her to-do list, just under destroying Stratonice.

By the time Alucard stopped outside a metal door stained with rust and barred by a row of old locks, Alexis wasn't sure she could find her way back if her life depended on it.

"Do you know where the keys are?"

Alucard gave her a look that told her in no uncertain terms that she had asked a stupid question. He reached out and turned the handle, then _shoved_. The rusted steel locks snapped with a series of loud, metallic shrieks. Alexis's hands flew up to cover her ears as she grimaced from the cacophony.

"_Warn_ me, next time!" She glared at the vampire. He gave her an unrepentant grin and she pushed past him to enter the ancient room. Complete and total darkness met her eyes. A line of light from the outer corridor illuminated a stone floor with what looked like a steel rail set into it. What was that for? A mining cart?

"Let me guess. This room was never wired for electricity." Alexis chuckled and quickly traced the design Liam had taught her in the air and clenched her fist. Blinding light flooded the room, sending stabbing pain through her eyes. Alucard hissed behind her as Liam made his own sound of protest.

"Cancel it, Alexis," Liam called out. His voice sounded muffled, as though he held a sleeve of his cassock over his face to shield his eyes. She, herself, had thrown up an arm to block the blinding light. Alexis crooked her finger and blessed darkness dropped over them.

"What was _that_?" she exclaimed, spots dancing through the darkness in front of her eyes.

"That exercise is originally designed to illuminate traces of the supernatural. You know…demon residue, ghosts, vampire blood. It acts like a black light to highlight the traces left on material objects. It's a small side effect that it picks up dust motes at a dimmer light level. Because of that, it makes a good beginning exercise, unless you live in a place that's haunted, possessed by demons…or used to cut up vampires."

Alexis scowled and blinked as dimmer lights came up around the room. She turned to see Alucard near the wall with a gloved hand on a light switch.

"Coincidentally, the room _was_ wired for electricity…roughly a hundred and fifty years ago," the vampire said with a smirk.

Alexis sighed. She wanted to feel offended, but she had to admit she should have waited for a response to her assumption before she used a power she didn't truly understand, yet. She covered up her embarrassment by examining the room.

It didn't look as bloody as Liam made it sound. Actually, she didn't see anything that could be identified as blood at all. The floor and walls were stone tiles, like most of the basement. The metal lines in the floor that she had mistaken for a cart rail turned out to be part of an alchemical symbol set into the stone. Closer inspection revealed dark tarnish on most of the metal work which made her think it might be made out of silver instead of steel.

The right-hand wall sported a bank of cabinets with glass fronts frosted with dust. They held mysterious items swathed in plastic or displayed in glass cases. Alexis frowned as something caught her eye. She crossed the room to peer through one of the cabinet doors.

"Is that…?"

"A set of fangs, mounted for display," Alucard said from right next to her ear. She shivered as his cool breath raised goose bumps on her neck.

"Not yours, I presume?" Alexis gave him an arch look and he grinned, showing off his own fangs.

"No. Van Helsing's son had the idea to retrieve a keepsake from every vampire he killed. Sadly, he only killed one on his own."

Alexis shivered, wondering what it said about the man's character that he'd wanted to keep such a grisly trophy. That smacked of serial killer to her. She examined Alucard's features, only a few inches from her own.

"Did you like Van Helsing's son?"

Alucard pulled back, his grin melting into a carefully neutral expression.

"He did great things to develop and enhance the seal."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"He was my second master," the vampire said and drew himself up, staring down his nose at her for a moment before he glanced at Liam and then crossed the room. He picked up a glass slide on the back counter that he couldn't possibly have any interest in and examined it. That straight spine and the tilt of his shoulders made her think of a cat feigning indifference after suffering an affront to its dignity.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," she muttered as she turned to take in the rest of the room.

The center of the alchemical symbol sported a raised slab of stone big enough to hold a prone body…or a coffin. The far side of the room had a sort of stage and a raised area that made Alexis think of a DJ's booth at a club. Three ancient computer monitors faced inward and a mass of wires and cables cascaded down the wall of the booth to puddle in a heap at the base.

The place made her think of a badly rendered steampunk torture chamber cum mad scientist's lab. Somehow, though, she didn't doubt this was the right place.

Turning to Liam, Alexis gave him a tremulous smile.

"So, where do we start?"

-ssSSss—

Candles flickered around the edge of the silver circle set into the floor and five tall, black pillar candles stood at the five points of the star. Alucard's coffin lay on the pedestal in the center of the star.

Alexis touched the knife belted at her side and took a deep breath. A simple gesture and a clenching fist wouldn't cut it, now. This was a major working. She glanced around the candle-lit circle and gave Liam a wry look.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say this was some kind of demonic ritual."

"Seen with the wrong eyes, I'm sure it would look that way," Liam said with an impish grin. "It only gets worse from here on out, but I claim absolutely no responsibility for the Hellsings coloring their ritualistic candles black."

"Van Helsing felt that black was better than red," Alucard said from his spot perched on the edge of his coffin.

"What's wrong with white?" Liam asked. Alucard grinned at him.

"White mixed with the blood he imbued them with makes pink and that just ruins the whole atmosphere."

"I see," Liam said, giving the pillar candles an appraising look. "That explains the strange smell…"

"Oh, I don't want to even think about that," Alexis said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Can we just get on with it?"

She had dreamed of Alucard for the last three nights but he had refused to feed from her because the seal would require her to open a vein for him. She felt antsy with that nebulous _need_ and only hoped she could concentrate through the first part of the ritual.

"Are you ready?" Liam asked. Alexis took another deep breath and touched the notebook at the foot of the coffin. Although she had done her best to memorize the ritual, she had insisted on keeping her notes with her in case her mind blanked out on her. She looked at Alucard and bit her lip.

"Are _you_ ready?" she asked. After all, he was the one about to get flayed metaphysically. Alucard's red eyes locked with hers and a smile spread slowly across his face. She was used to his manic grins but this looked more like the cat that got the cream. She'd never seen a look of such supreme satisfaction on his face.

The vampire rose from his seat on the lid of the coffin and shrugged his red duster off. Never breaking eye contact with Alexis, he held it out with one gloved hand and let it drop into a crimson pile on the ground.

Alexis glanced over the double breasted suit jacket beneath and realized that, with the exception of that night at the club, she had never seen him without the duster. Well, unless she counted all the times he melted into shadows.

Reaching up, he began untying the cravat at his throat. His gloved fingers made short work of the knot and he pulled the long strip of cloth off to drop it on the top of the duster. The suit jacket quickly followed. Alexis scowled as he shook a sleeve out and started unbuttoning his cuffs.

"Not that I'm complaining about having the shoe on the other foot for once, but what's with the strip tease?"

Alucard grinned, baring fangs.

"I am about to bleed…a lot. I don't want to stain my clothes.

Liam snorted and they both turned to look at him.

"I saw you repair your clothes with a thought after the battle with Stratonice," he said. "You're just trying to throw Alexis off balance and I, for one, don't want to see the whole shebang."

Alexis glanced back at Alucard, thinking he might be angry at Liam's accusations but she found him grinning from ear to ear. His hand had paused in the act of unbuttoning his cuffs and the shirt seemed to melt off of him as she watched, dripping away into nothing.

Alexis blinked, suddenly confronted by a pale, bare chest with broad shoulders and clearly defined musculature. Alucard lowered his hands, still hidden by the gloves. Muscle and sinew shifted under that pale skin with the movement, drawing her eyes from one arm to the other. There wasn't a speck of hair anywhere on him with the exception of a fine line that started at his navel and trailed down into the pants that had morphed into the black leather he'd worn to Clubb Redd.

Alexis closed her mouth, mortified at the realization that she had been gaping at him. She snapped her gaze up to his smirking face and narrowed her eyes.

"Somehow, I doubt that's the body you had when you died," she said, remembering the journals she had been reading. Van Helsing had mentioned that the vampire could change his form, up to and including his gender. Alucard shrugged, the muscles moving under that pale skin distracting her from her line of thought.

"It is the body I have used most since my death. It is as much 'me' as the shadow hounds and the bats."

Alexis nodded. That made sense. With a supreme act of will, she tore her eyes away from his shoulders and picked up the notebook from the foot of the coffin. She'd already lost some of the details of the ritual.

"Lay down on top of the coffin," she said, flipping through the notebook. The book that detailed what Van Helsing had done to seal the vampire described the various methods they had used to physically restrain him. Luckily, she didn't need the silver alloy manacles, the vials of holy water and the Host. The vampire willingly stretched out on the lid of the coffin, gloved hands clasped over his middle.

"You know you're going to have to take the gloves off," Alexis said, frowning. "What are you hiding?"

Alucard lifted an eyebrow and locked gazes with her as he started to tug the gloves off. Alexis couldn't keep her eyes from dropping down to watch as the cloth cleared his fingers.

Scars snaked over his hands and fingers, prominent even in the candle light. From lines as thin as thread to thicker ridges like strands of yarn, the livid red tissue marked his flesh like a burn victim. The raised welts came together at the back of each hand, swirling into a thick knot of scar tissue. Alexis swallowed hard, trying to imagine what could have left such marks on him. As a vampire, he should have been able to heal it, no matter what caused it.

Without thinking, she reached out and traced the raised ridges of skin trailing over the bone and sinew. It flexed and gave under her touch. His flesh might be cold but it didn't feel dead…just different.

"What did that?" She almost didn't want to know the answer, but if she didn't ask, it would eat her up inside with wondering.

"The seal." He only gave her those two words and a slow smile replaced that oh so serious expression as nausea trickled through her stomach. It was obvious, considering that she knew what the ritual entailed, but she hadn't wanted to believe that what she was about to do to him would leave such obvious, lasting damage. "Yes, my master to be. It will hurt and you will be the one to inflict it upon me. I will bear it in silence as I did under Van Helsing. I will stand it because it must be done, but it is your hand that will brand agony into my flesh."

Alexis's throat felt dry at the thought of hurting him. She felt ill and she really didn't need a reminder of what she was about to do…but that was the point, wasn't it? What kind of master would she be if she shrank from what had to be done?

Gritting her teeth, she pressed her palm flat against the scars that twisted over the back of his hand and turned to look at Liam.

"Close the circle."

Liam huffed in annoyance, probably due to Alucard's melodramatic speech, but he stooped to set a wooden block into a groove in the floor. The block held two squares of silver that lined up with the silver circles set into the stone. Without the block, the outside circles weren't complete and anyone could cross the floor with impunity. With the block in place, the circles could be activated and crossing them could cause major problems if they weren't careful.

Alexis frowned when nothing happened and then Liam cocked an eyebrow at her. Oh yeah. She couldn't just wait for the circles to activate. She had to _make_ them activate with her faith.

Yeah, that didn't sound hokey at all.

Shaking her head to clear her mind of the sarcastic thoughts that distracted her, she took a deep breath and willed the circles to activate, putting all the certainty she could muster behind the command. The five black pillar candles at the points of the star flared to life, burning with a decidedly red tinge that normal flames didn't have.

"So far, so good," Liam said, pacing around the outside edge of the circles. His footsteps echoed around the room, tapping out a soft cadence on the stone. Alexis found it strangely calming as she pulled the knife from her belt.

"Remember. Blood must flow in order to bind the metaphysical to the physical for the ritual."

Alexis nodded as she moved toward Alucard, stretched out on the lid of his coffin. He watched with calm, red eyes as she put a hand on his arm and brought the knife up to carve a line in the flesh of the back of his wrist.

The blade bit deep into the pale skin and blood welled up, dark and sluggish. It spilled down the sides of his wrist to touch the black coffin lid. In the flickering candle light, the blood looked like a macabre manacle.

True to his word, the vampire didn't utter a sound. His fingers flexed, sliding against the coffin lid as though testing to make sure the tendons weren't severed, but he didn't do more than that.

Swallowing back the urge to throw up, Alexis moved around the coffin, repeating the procedure at each ankle and the other wrist. With his blood seeping onto the lid of the coffin, she shifted her attention to his face. Those fine features gave her a peaceful expression, but his eyes seemed a little wider than normal.

Refusing to look away, Alexis moved to the head of the coffin and placed the tip of the blade against the hollow of Alucard's throat.

"To the hilt, Alexis, and you must _believe_, or his pain is for nothing."

Baring her teeth in a determined grimace, Alexis shoved the dagger into Alucard's throat, burying it until the hilt met flesh. The vampire's eyes flew wide and his fanged mouth opened in a silent shout. His back bowed up off the coffin, arching as though electricity ripped through his body. His hands spasmed and flexed, pushing at the surface under them, but everywhere that blood touched coffin lid, the vampire was pinned. He convulsed, but his wrists, ankles and neck stuck to their places on the wood, held as inexorably as iron holds a human.

Wincing away from Alucard's body writhing on the coffin, Alexis stooped to retrieve the long, iron rod resting on the floor at the head of the coffin. The rod ended in a pair of concentric metal circles with a star in the center like an iron stamp. The branding iron didn't glow with heat. Instead, it was coated in a mixture of silver nitrate, garlic juice and the sap from a holly bush. Such a combination could easily kill a lesser vampire. Four more brands waited at the head of the coffin.

Turning back to the vampire, Alexis carefully lined the brand up with the back of Alucard's scarred left hand and pressed it into the flesh.

The vampire jerked, his mouth snapping closed with a loud click. His teeth ground together, fangs digging a furrow in his bottom lip.

Remembering Liam's admonition that without faith, Alucard's pain was in vain, Alexis concentrated on willing the seal into the brand. Smoke rose from the burning flesh, wafting up with an acrid, sickening stench. Alexis swallowed back bile as she pulled the brand away to reveal two concentric circles with a star in the center burned into Alucard's flesh. The black mark pulsed with a deep, red light as though to make the agony of the brand visible to the naked eye.

"Don't stop, now."

Liam's voice snapped her out of her horrified reverie. As miserable as this was, she couldn't stop.

Moving to the other side of the coffin, she repeated the procedure on the other hand. With the stench of burning undead flesh turning her stomach, Alexis dropped the brand and stooped to pick up the next one.

This was the hard part. Each brand created a new level to the seal and added details to the design, but like screen printing, she had to line it up just right.

The burn on Alucard's left hand had developed an angry red halo that reached out in fine tendrils to wrap around to his palm. It looked like the worst burn infection she'd ever seen…and now she had to make it worse.

Valiantly, she pushed her hesitation aside. The longer she took, the more it stretched the torture out. Grasping his fingers, she pressed them to the coffin lid. Lining the brand up, she pressed it into the flesh. Alucard jerked again but she didn't take the time to gawk at her handiwork. She lifted the brand away and moved to the other side of the coffin. At this point, she aimed for as much speed as she could manage while still maintaining accuracy. She just wanted to finish.

With each layer, the symbol became more complete. As she pressed the final brand into his flesh, a low, pain-filled groan rumbled up out of Alucard's chest. His eyes blazed a bright, angry scarlet from under partially closed eyelids, clearly visible through the latticework of his black eyelashes.

Angrily tossing the last brand aside, Alexis grabbed the dagger's handle and ripped it free from Alucard's throat. Blood welled up, thick and sluggish, with none of the rushing gush that would have burst forth from a human throat.

Flipping the knife around, she pressed its tip to the edge of her wrist and nicked herself. It wasn't a large wound and she might get a small trickle of blood before it closed on its own, but Alucard's eyes flew wide and his mouth opened in a sharp, hungry snarl as soon as the scent wafted over him. He strained at the blood bonds that held him down, trapped in his corporeal form, snapping at empty air like a rabid dog.

Showing no fear of the vampire's vicious jerks and lunges, Alexis pressed the trickle of blood against his lips. Alucard convulsed and fangs slid into her flesh, slicing through the skin like a hot knife through butter.

Alexis hissed as pain shot up her arm, making her want to jerk her hand back as though she'd touched a hot stove. Placing a hand on the coffin lid above Alucard's head, she forced herself to lean into the bite instead of pulling away. The vampire's lips closed over her wrist and he drew hard on the wound.

Alexis gasped as she felt the seal click into place. One moment, all she felt was pain and cold, grim determination. The next moment, that familiar wave of euphoria engulfed her and she felt…something. There were no words to describe it, but she could _feel_ Alucard with a sense outside of the standard five. She couldn't read his thoughts or even his emotions. The best way she could describe it was complete and total awareness of him without the need to see, hear or feel him. She doubted she would ever have to wonder where he was, again. She'd simply _know_.

Alexis blinked as she felt the touch of fingers on her arm and she realized the seal clicking into place had released Alucard from the bloody bonds. Those sharp fangs withdrew from her flesh and his cool tongue flicked over the wound, sealing it so that she wouldn't bleed out. Alexis frowned and swayed. The venom was kicking in, but he'd barely tasted her…only enough to complete the seal and free him from the blood bonds. If that was all they were doing, she would appreciate it, but she needed him to feed.

"Why did you stop?"

"The seal prevents me from feeding on my master by my own will."

"But I need you to feed on me."

"Is that an order, my master?"

Alexis scowled at the vampire. It felt weird hearing him call her master, and yet there was a rightness about it that she couldn't put words to.

"Yes. It's an order."

Alucard lunged at her so fast she didn't have time to jerk with surprise. His mouth latched onto her throat as his fangs slid into her flesh. Already affected by her first dose of venom, Alexis's knees buckled and the vampire rode her to the ground, cradling the back of her head with a hand to keep it from striking the stone floor.

Alexis grunted as she hit the ground with Alucard crouched over her, drawing at her throat like a runner with a bottle of water at the end of a marathon. She felt a small flare of pain from her bad hip before the euphoria of his bite washed it away. His arms closed around her and she realized she'd never felt his arms holding her without at least three layers of clothing between them.

Holding onto consciousness by a thin thread, Alexis lifted her arms and smoothed her hands up that cool, bare back. She encountered thick, silky strands of hair and tangled her fingers in them. Closing her fist, she pulled, tugging him away from her throat.

Alucard made a sound of protest deep in his throat but he allowed himself to be pulled away, blinking down at her with blazing red eyes.

"I'm your master, now," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Alucard licked a couple of drops of blood from his lips and swallowed.

"Yes, master," he said in a hoarse voice. Alexis smiled and pulled him down to press her lips to his. Alucard jerked, surprised red eyes blinking at her from inches away. She pulled back almost immediately, not giving him a chance to move past his surprise to indicate if he welcomed the kiss or not.

"Then you bite me with more respect than that," she said before tugging him back down toward her throat.

"Yes, master," he whispered against her skin and he slid his fangs into her throat again. Alexis took a deep breath, fighting to keep her arms around him tight, but the venom seeped through her veins, ripping the strength from her arms. Her muscles loosened and her hands slid down his back to fall limply at her sides.

**A/N: *sigh* I don't know what it is about torturing my main characters, but I have this thing…like my favorite scene in Star Wars was in Return of the Jedi when Luke gets zapped by the emperor. Why do I like that so much? In my defense, I think it's because great adversity creates a greater contrast for when everything finally goes right. Yeah. That's what I'll tell myself from now on. *grin***


	32. Ch 31: Needle in a Haystack

**So, next to last chapter. We're almost there, folks! I really appreciate all the feedback I've gotten and you guys make my day with all your reviews. *hugs all around* Enjoy!**

**Also…I have gotten some people asking if I will be writing a sequel. It is a very appealing idea. There's plenty of fodder for it, but if I do, it won't be anytime soon. I have set myself a challenge to write a trilogy of original work by the beginning of July, next year. If I manage to pull that off, I may look into writing a sequel to this. We'll just have to see, eh? *smile***

**Chapter 31: Needle in a Haystack**

Alucard lifted his new master in his arms, examining the pattern her eyelashes made against the tops of her cheeks. He could still taste her on his lips…her blood and her kiss. This wasn't the first time a woman had kissed him since Van Helsing enslaved him. This wasn't even the first time he'd thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but this _was_ the first time it had mattered this much to him. Ever.

He looked up at Liam, watching them with resigned eyes.

"Ye care for her, too, eh?"

Alucard's eyes narrowed.

"She is my master."

Liam sighed and shook his head as he walked around the circle. He knelt and removed the wooden blocks that completed the circle.

"Stubborn bastard," he said. "There's no need to pretend she doesn't mean more to you than that. She's already a target due to her association with you and I'm sure she'd like to know that her affections are returned."

Alucard didn't answer him. As soon as the circle was broken, he turned his back on the priest and carried Alexis out of the room. Liam sighed and set about cleaning up from the ritual. He found he'd come to care about Alexis as a close friend and he hated the thought of the heartache she would suffer because of that vampire. Unfortunately, if he'd learned anything as a priest, it was that the heart rarely listened to reason and talking a person out of being in love was near on impossible.

Making a mental note to stock up on tissues and chocolate, he flipped the lights on and started putting out candles.

-ssSSss-

Alexis opened her eyes to total darkness. She frowned, taking a moment to assess her last conscious memories and the frown quickly curled into a small smile. She could feel Alucard nearby, probably in the same room with her. She took a deep breath and recognized the musty scent of the vampire's basement room. Her smile widened.

Opening her mouth in a yawn, she stretched and sat up in the bed that Alucard had put together for her. Reaching out, she found her phone on the bedside table. Using its light, she spotted Alucard's coffin on the other side of the room. It was a little after ten in the morning so he would be asleep.

Sliding out of bed, she crossed the room to stand over the coffin. The light from her phone revealed a plain black surface, no trace of blood from the ritual left. Had the vampire cleaned it off or had the coffin absorbed the blood? She wouldn't be surprised by either answer. What did surprise her was an inscription set in silver at the widest point on the lid. _The bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to make me tame._ That hadn't been there before the ritual.

"I guess I can ask you about that after you wake up," she said and turned away from the coffin. Even with the protection the seal provided, she didn't want to wake Alucard up. That would be rude.

To her relief, she found the door unbarred and managed to make her way upstairs. She heard voices coming from the kitchen and hobbled down the hallway to push the door open.

Liam looked up from the sink, shirt cuffs pushed up past his elbows and dish suds clinging to his arms. One of the temps from the agency stood at the back table, folding linens.

"Ah, you're awake," Liam said, reaching for a dish towel to dry his hands. "How do you feel?"

Alexis smiled and reached up to gingerly touch her throat.

"I'm fine, although I'd love a meal and something to drink."

"Of course," Liam said. "Would you like to eat in the parlor or one of the dining rooms?"

Alexis glanced at the woman folding linens and sighed.

"The parlor, I suppose. Although…I'd like for you to join me, unless the dishes can't wait."

"I'd be happy to join you," Liam said with a smile.

Nodding, Alexis left the kitchen and headed for the front parlor. It had changed quite a bit since those first days. The walls and floor had been scrubbed and fresh wax applied to the wood. The rugs had been pulled out of storage as well as the furniture. Potted plants and small trees from the local nursery gave the room a warm, inviting look.

When Liam arrived with a trolley stocked with sandwiches, fruit and tea, he found Alexis staring out the window at the back garden. She turned as he came in and gave him a smile.

"I want to hire a gardener. That garden looks like it was really something, once upon a time."

"I will draft an advertisement for that, today."

Alexis smiled and limped over to a chair as Liam laid out their meal. She grabbed a bottle of water first, giving the tea pot a doubtful look.

"It's the mint that you like," Liam said with a chuckle. He took a half sandwich and some fruit for himself, seating himself in the chair across from her. The trolley stood between them so they could both reach the food.

"How's the hiring going, anyway?"

"I have received several applications and more than a few seem promising. You do realize that it would be best if the live-in staff, at least, are familiar with Alucard's nature."

Alexis frowned and sat back, nibbling at a strawberry.

"I have to admit, it's been nice not having to hide what he is from you. It kind of sucks to have to watch my words in my own home. The thing is, how do we find people that are going to handle it well, and baring that, what do we do with the ones that freak out?"

Liam shrugged.

"I can handle broaching the subject. If I think they will handle it well, I will introduce them to the real thing. If they don't handle it well, we'll send them home. No one is likely to believe them anyway. We can further protect ourselves by having them sign a secrecy clause before I broach the subject."

Alexis snorted and reached for another strawberry.

"And what are we going to do if they break the clause? We can't exactly take that to court."

Liam shook his head and chuckled.

"We have a much better method to enforce a secrecy clause than the threat of taking them to court. We have Alucard."

Alexis laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, he would love that. Maybe a little too much. Still, you have a point. I can't think of a better threat."

"Speaking of Alucard…well…I've seen how you act with him and I'm a little…concerned."

Alexis lifted an eyebrow at Liam and took a drink from her bottle of water. She thought she might know what he was hinting at, but she wasn't going to bring the subject up. He would have to broach that, himself.

Liam scowled at her and took a deep breath, plunging right in.

"I saw you kiss him. I suspect you love him and I know I can't stop you if you're determined to stay the course, but Alexis, he'll break your heart. He's a vampire and you…you are his food."

Alexis took another drink, holding Liam's gaze as she did so.

"I know it's possible," she said, putting the cap back on the water. "Believe me, that's been on my mind since I first felt an attraction to him. But, there's something there. You don't know the whole story, Liam. The night we met, he saved me from rape and possibly death. I don't remember that night very well. I was horribly drunk, but I do remember that he saved me.

"Now, don't get me wrong. I don't think he did it out of the goodness of his heart. In fact, I'm pretty sure he meant for me to be dessert, but I said something. I don't even remember what it was, now, but it stopped him. He called me master. I think whatever I said reminded him of the last Hellsing. I woke up the next morning with a coffin in my bedroom."

Alexis chuckled, remembering those first few days.

"Since then, he's saved my life several times. He brought me to this huge house so he could protect me. He signed it and a considerable fortune into my name, and he did all of that before he learned how valuable my blood is to vampires. I don't know if it's love on his part, but I believe he truly cares for me in his way. I know I'll probably never hear the words 'I love you' from him, even if it is that, but…well. Actions speak louder than words. Think about it, Liam. He could hand me over to Stratonice and probably cut a deal to make her leave him alone in exchange. Hell, he could kill me, himself, and Stratonice would probably leave him alone. She doesn't want to kill him. She wants him to hurt. That's why she's been after me from the beginning. Instead, he's _enslaved_ himself to me so that he can gain the power to destroy her and protect me. If that isn't one hell of an 'I love you', I don't know what is."

Alexis leaned forward to pick up her sandwich and take a bite. Today it was roast beef with provolone cheese and a spicy aioli sauce. She made appreciative sounds as she chewed and watched Liam mull her words over.

"I have to confess, when it comes to love, I'm mostly limited to the antics of jealous lovers and cheating spouses. I think, after hearing your point of view, I am not as wise in the ways of love as I thought. I think I agree with you, but that does raise another question. Will you be content to spend your life in such a relationship? Do you think you can hold him to a monogamous arrangement if there is not an open declaration of intent between you?"

Alexis took a bite of sandwich and chewed thoughtfully.

"I don't know," she said after a long span of silence. "I don't know for certain that I have to have an open declaration of intent from him. It's not like I'd be trying to marry him. He'd probably burst into flames in the middle of the ceremony if I did."

Liam stared at her for a moment and then burst out into raucous laughter. He leaned forward, holding his middle as tears of hilarity formed at the corners of his eyes. Alexis grinned and took another bite of sandwich.

"I must say, I hadn't thought of that, but you may be right. He is very resistant to holy items for a vampire, but if the ceremony was done properly, he might very well burn for it."

"At this point, Liam, I'm just taking it one day at a time. I know to be prepared for the worst, but the truth is, I do love him and the heart wants what the heart wants. Women and men, both, have been lamenting that fact throughout the course of human history. Let's just say, he's made me happier than I've been since my brother and father died and I'm willing to take my chances."

"So be it," Liam said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, "but I'm still stocking up on tissues and chocolate."

Alexis chuckled and reached for another strawberry.

-ssSSss-

Alexis felt Alucard wake up just before dusk. She looked up from the journal she was reading, frowning at the odd sensation. She hadn't realized there was a difference in how it felt when he was awake versus asleep and she couldn't have described it to save her life, but she _knew_ when he opened his eyes.

Setting the journal aside, she rose from her seat and paced over to the window. She stared out at the overgrown garden, pondering a conundrum she'd been thinking about off and on, all day. Testing a small theory she had, she closed her eyes and concentrated on a desire for Alucard to join her in the parlor. Moments later, she heard a rustling behind her.

"You called for me, my master."

Smiling, Alexis opened her eyes and turned around.

"So, that works. Does it cause you any pain when I summon you like that?"

"Only if I resist."

"That's good to know. So, I need to be careful with it if you're unable to answer me. I'll keep that in mind."

Alucard smiled, that cat-that-got-the-cream look that made Alexis want to laugh. She limped across the room and looked up at her vampire. Remembering her earlier discussion with Liam, she decided to test another theory. Reaching up, she grabbed a handful of cravat and pulled him down until his nose was less than an inch from hers. Holding his gaze, she raised herself on tip toe and pressed her lips to his.

Those red eyes widened, but he didn't pull away. Feeling daring, she ran the tip of her tongue along his bottom lip. He made a sound low in his throat that she couldn't interpret until he matched the pressure of her lips, kissing her back.

Alexis felt her heart rate pick up and she pulled away, licking the taste of him from her lips.

"I think that tells you, in no uncertain terms, what I'm feeling right now. It's not a casual passing fancy. I can accept if it is unrequited, but I think it's only fair that you tell me if pursuing this course with you is leading to a dead end."

Alucard's eyes seemed to glow ever so slightly in the failing evening light and he licked a line over his bottom lip.

"As my master, you could order me to go through the motions and you would have the most attentive lover any woman ever wished for."

Alexis narrowed her eyes at the vampire.

"No. You're not getting off that easy. In this, I want a partner or nothing at all. I would rather know that nothing can come of this than spend the rest of my life wondering how much is real and how much is acting influenced by the seal. I'm not asking for a declaration of undying love. I just want to know if I'm wasting my time and my heart on this."

Alucard took a deep breath…a completely unnecessary action on his part…and let it out. Alexis willed him to give her the truth and his eyes grew wide.

"No, my master. Your efforts are not wasted on me." Alexis felt her heart jump at those words. It wasn't an 'I love you' and probably never would be, but right that moment, she didn't care. It was enough to know that she had hope.

Alucard's eyes cut to the side, the corners of his eyes tightening and his shoulders hunching as though bracing for a blow. Alexis frowned, thinking she might have pushed him too far. Smiling, she kissed his cheek and released the cravat. He straightened and she turned away.

"Now, what I mostly need from you is to find out how you've been obtaining blood. I realize it's my responsibility to supply you with blood, but Liam and I can only donate so much and I don't have access to the resources Hellsing did. Barring the deaths of relatively innocent people, I'm open to suggestions."

As it turned out, Alucard had several different methods for obtaining nourishment. He openly admitted his willingness to utterly consume humans that fell into certain categories…rapists, murderers, homeless beggars, the mad, hardened criminals and anyone else that he felt deserved death. Of course, that last one broadened the category considerably, but at least he put some thought into it, first.

If he didn't want to kill his victim, he used his piercing tool and the power of his gaze to convince them they'd come by the wound in some other way. Alexis made a mental note to use that gaze when searching for staff that could handle working with a vampire. He could just mesmerize the washouts into thinking it was all a stupid joke or their imagination.

The last method he used was the blood that he kept in a bottle and sipped like wine from a glass. It came from blood donations that were rejected due to lack of suitability when tested and would otherwise be discarded. Alexis really liked that last method, until he made a face and told her the anticoagulants used to keep the blood liquid tasted disgusting. It would do if he had no other choice, but it wasn't his preference.

"Alright. I think I can work with that," Alexis said, reaching for her phone. She sent a text to ask Liam to join them in the parlor. He had already agreed to donate his blood, provided they had a way to do it that didn't actually involve Alucard sinking fangs into him. He wasn't sure if he could stave off the ghouling effects of the vampire venom with his alchemy and he wasn't willing to test it out by being bitten. Alexis had completely forgotten about the piercing tool Alucard used until the vampire mentioned it again.

"You needed me, Alexis?"

She looked up from the journal she had returned to reading while they waited. Alucard stood at the window, looking out into the overgrown garden. He turned as Liam came into the room and Alexis gasped softly as she felt his hunger spike…yet another thing she didn't realize she could feel through the seal until there was a change in it.

"Ah…yeah. Alucard has a method of feeding without fangs and he's rather…hungry. If you're still willing…"

Liam gave the vampire a cool, appraising look, but he nodded.

"I said I would and I will, but I don't know how often I'll be able to donate. I've never tested the healing effects of the alchemy against controlled blood loss."

"That's fine. There are some other methods we can use as well. This is just the easiest, right now. Alucard, I release you to feed from Liam but you cannot use fangs or take so much that it endangers his life."

"Yes, master."

The glow in Alucard's eyes had brightened to a noticeable level. Alexis was starting to understand why he preferred to wear the sunglasses that he did, even at night. They weren't to protect his eyes but to hide the glow they sometimes emanated.

The vampire stalked across the room, a decidedly predatory look on his face. Liam took a deep breath and lifted his chin, holding his ground. Alexis almost laughed at the way Alucard circled him like a hunting cat with cornered prey. The vampire seemed to be doing his damnedest to rattle the priest and Liam was ignoring his efforts admirably.

Giving up the chase, Alucard moved up behind Liam, the piercing tool flashing silver on his thumb. Liam tilted his head ever so slightly to the side as that sharp metal prong touched his flesh.

"Ye'd best hold the wound open while you feed, else the alchemy'll heal it before you've had your fill."

Alucard didn't answer as he pressed the metal point into Liam's neck and tugged to the side, allowing a bright red line of blood to spill out of the wound. He bent to catch it with his tongue and kept the metal prong in place as he drew on the wound.

Liam closed his eyes and grit his teeth in a grimace of pain. Alexis knew it had to hurt since he didn't get to experience the euphoric effects of the venom that she got when Alucard fed. She wanted to look away but she forced herself to watch. After all, Liam was suffering this pain at her request. The least she could do was observe it.

Alucard fed for most of five minutes and Liam looked considerably paler by the time the vampire pulled away, licking the wound to seal it. Liam stepped away, a fine sheen of sweat reflecting on his brow. He turned to Alexis.

"No offense, Alexis, but I'd rather not do that again unless it's an emergency."

Alexis nodded, more than happy to comply. She hadn't enjoyed seeing her friend in pain any more than he'd enjoyed experiencing it.

"As I said, there are other ways. If nothing else, he can go out hunting tomorrow with some specific restrictions. For tonight, I wanted you both here." Alexis turned away from them and crossed the room to look out the window. "It's making me nervous. We haven't seen hide or hair of Stratonice since the battle at the church. What is she doing? I expected her to attack before now."

"Biding her time." Alexis turned to look at Alucard as he strode toward her, that red glimmer in his eyes. "In life, she was the mother of one of the greatest war leaders in history. Alexander certainly didn't learn it from his father who virtually ignored the boy. I destroyed most of her forces in our last confrontation. She has fallen back to regroup."

"So when is she going to come after us?"

Alucard shrugged.

"It depends on how much she showed her hand in the last confrontation. If she has another army in reserve, it could be tomorrow. If she has to rebuild her forces, it could be a decade or more. It wouldn't matter to her. She has as much time as she needs."

Alexis scowled, starting to pace in her limping fashion. Her hip throbbed in protest but she pushed it aside. The movement helped her think.

"We need to find her. I don't know if she's aware of the seal and what it does, but she knows about Liam and will be looking for a way to neutralize him. If we wait for her to come to us, we may lose the battle. I'm not willing to accept that."

"So, how do you propose we find her?" Liam asked. "She could be anywhere in the world. Vampires are accomplished at hiding themselves. It would be like looking for a needle in a very large haystack."

"Then we need a really big magnet. One attuned to vampires." Alexis gave Liam a hopeful look. "The seal that we performed looked a lot like a demonic ritual, particularly the circle. Can alchemy be used to summon something preternatural?"

Liam scowled at her.

"It's not something I've ever done. I may not be the best priest, but I draw the line at consorting with demons"

"I should hope so," Alexis said with a snort, "but what about vampires? Could you summon one?"

Liam frowned and stroked his chin.

"Theoretically, I can, but it's not like summoning a demon. For that, I would have to open a portal between planes of existence. Stratonice is already on this plane and unfettered. The best I could do is call her…a sort of compulsion to come here, and I would need something of hers as well as her full name. She would be able to fight it if her will is strong enough, though not indefinitely. The compulsion gets stronger as time goes on, but she might be able to buy enough time to come in force, especially if she has an army in reserve as Alucard suggested."

Alexis nodded. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was better than sitting around for years wondering when the wicked bitch would descend on them.

"What kind of item of hers would you need?"

"Something imbued with her essence, generally something she cares about or was part of her person. Hair, nails, teeth, favorite childhood toy. All of those would work, but we don't have that, or her full name."

"I know her full name." Alexis turned to look at Alucard, a smile spreading across her face. Of course he would know her name.

"Perfect."

"But we still need an item with her essence," Liam said, narrowing his eyes at the vampire, "and you can't be certain that's her birth name."

Alucard chuckled and shook his head.

"I may not be an alchemist, but I know the essence of a name. It holds power for a vampire as well. A birth name, alone, is not always enough. If the soul doesn't recognize the birth name, it is useless. You should know that, _alchemist_."

Liam looked away and huffed in annoyance.

"Personal alchemy isn't my strong point," he said. "I know the theory but it skates a thin line of infringing on free will. My family considers that to be dark alchemy that we don't condone."

"Yeah, well, jail infringes on free will, too, and in the right circumstances, it's warranted," Alexis said, giving the both of them a quelling glare. Liam had the grace to look contrite. Alucard just grinned. "Now, can you do the summoning or not, Liam?"

"I can, so long as I get something with her essence in it."

Alexis leaned against the desk, staring at the ceiling in thought.

"I can give you a piece of Stratonice's essence."

Alexis and Liam both looked at Alucard. His lips twisted in a smug smirk and Alexis felt a sudden urge to laugh at the infuriated look that descended on Liam's features.

"So, cough it up," the priest said with an exasperated snarl. Alucard looked to Alexis for confirmation, which just irritated Liam more. She nodded, fighting to hide her amusement at the vampire's nettling.

Alucard closed his eyes, looking like a man dozing in the chair. His eyelids fluttered, a subtle movement under the lids, reminiscent of a sleeper caught up in dreams. His head drooped and then lolled to the side. He seemed to have fallen asleep and Liam took a step toward him, hands clenched at his sides. Alexis put out a hand to stop him as the vampire's body jerked. His head came up and his eyes flew open as he gagged on something they couldn't see. His shoulders rolled in a classic heaving motion and he coughed up a small, black object that dropped into his gloved palm.

"Did you seriously just hack up a hairball?" Alexis asked in disbelief.

"A hairball?" Alucard examined the item in his hand. "That is pure, crystallized essence of vampire. It's the residue left from my battle with Stratonice. He told me to cough it up, so I did."

Alexis sighed and pressed a hand to her temple as Alucard tossed the item he'd coughed up at Liam, grinning like a loon. Liam caught it, giving the vampire a withering glare that rolled off of him like water off a duck's back.

"Will it work?" Alexis asked with an exasperated sigh. Liam turned the thing over in his palm. It looked like a jagged chunk of onyx, roughly the size of a golf ball. No wonder Alucard had seemed to choke on it…assuming his anatomy in any way resembled what it had been when he lived. Grudgingly, the priest nodded.

"I recognize the feel of her power," he grumbled. "It will do."

"Excellent. And what's the name, Alucard?"

"Polyxena of Epirus," he said with a smirk. "Her birth name."

Alexis sighed and rolled her eyes. Even when he was helpful, he had to be difficult.

"Perform the summoning, Liam, and then we'll do what we can to prepare."

**A/N: I couldn't help myself! The visual of Alucard hacking up a hairball got itself stuck in my head and just wouldn't go away! My version of him does seem rather cat-like all around. Probably because he always made me think of the Cheshire Cat a little bit, what with all that grinning during inappropriate situations and stuff. :D**

**So, I had someone comment that they thought this was the last chapter. There's one more to go and the epilogue. I'll be posting both of those together on Thursday. Heehee…it's over 100k words. In layman's speak, if this was a published book, it would be roughly 430 pages long. O.o Now, I just need to apply this dedication to my original work. *grin***


	33. Ch 32: Final Confrontation

**So, I'm posting this, the last chapter of A Chance Encounter and the epilogue together. The epilogue is kind of short, which is why I decided to do that. **

**I find it ironic that today is the day I'm posting the last of this story. Today is my birthday. *grin* I guess I'm following that tradition of the birthday person giving everyone else gifts instead of receiving them. Heh. Works for me.**

**As I've said previously, I will be dropping out of posting fanfic for a while. I have set myself a goal to complete a trilogy of original work by the beginning of July, 2014. My intent is to self publish through ebooks. I believe I can do it. Considering I've written pretty much everything on my fanfic account since the end of October, last year, I've got it in me. I just have to keep myself on track. If anyone is interested in beta reading my original work, drop me a PM and we can discuss it. I will still receive notifications of reviews and PMs, so if you want to talk, drop me a message. I'll still respond. I promise. :) Also, if anyone is interested in the facebook thing, I'm trying to get started on some social networking for my original work. My facebook page for it is Vampires of Sa'Ahk. If you're interested in getting updates on how I'm coming along, feel free to follow it. Otherwise, enjoy the end of the story. :)**

**Chapter 32: Final Confrontation**

Alucard's eyes lit up with excitement as Liam set the wooden case on the desk. Alexis looked up from her reading to see the vampire on his feet, hovering over the priest. Liam grinned as he opened the lid, his previous irritation with the vampire gone. They'd all slept since then, after all. The man couldn't seem to hold a grudge to save his life.

"Nine hundred and sixty blessed silver 13mm bullets."

Alucard reached into the case to pull out a shell. It wasn't actually pure silver, but a silver-lead alloy with a hollow core filled with silver nitrate. The fragmenting capacity of the bullet guaranteed that the silver alloy would shred flesh and bone, dispersing in the target and poisoning them with silver. The blessing was the double tap to dust even the toughest ghouls and average vampires. The slugs wouldn't take Stratonice out, but they would plough through her minions.

"Beautiful," Alucard said, examining the bullet.

"Oh, don't be so egotistical," Liam said, plucking the bullet from the vampire's fingers. Alucard gave him an unrepentant grin. Alucard had made the bullets, himself. All he'd lacked was the blessing that even his resistance to holy items wouldn't permit.

"Are you happy?" Alexis lifted an eyebrow at her vampire.

"Yes, my master."

"Good. Now let me get back to reading. I'd like to get caught up on the history of Hellsing before the wicked bitch comes knocking."

Alucard grinned and bowed. He closed the box and swept out of the room. Alexis thought she might have heard him chortling as he went.

"Shall I bring you some lunch, Alexis?" Liam asked.

"Yeah. That would be great." Alexis dog-eared the page she was on and sat back in her chair, stretching. "Actually, I think I'll join you. I need a break."

Alexis rose from the chair, happy that her hip didn't give her more than a dull ache. She wasn't ready to run any marathons, but if she was careful when she walked, she didn't want to keel over from the pain.

Liam had performed the summoning three days ago and they were still waiting for Stratonice to show up. The alchemist had predicted a four day wait if Stratonice was ready to show up, seven if she felt the need to fight the compulsion. Alucard thought it might be closer to a month if she didn't want to show up. Secretly, Alexis trusted the vampire's prediction more. After all, he knew the woman.

In the mean time, life went on. Liam had already conducted two interviews for the housekeeper position, neither of which he felt would handle an introduction to Alucard very well. Alexis had met with Allen of Faulkner, Allen and Associates at long last. He had offered the services of his son as her personal investment manager. Apparently, the boy…who was already a college graduate…was long overdue for an introduction to the family legacy. That introduction was scheduled for tonight and Alexis found herself almost looking forward to the look on his face when he came face to face with a real vampire.

"When is your next interview for staff?" Alexis seated herself at the small table she'd had moved into the kitchen. She just wasn't comfortable sitting around in the parlor or dining room while she waited for Liam to bring her something to eat. Sometimes, she insisted on helping him cook.

"Thursday," he said, "so I have a couple of days to prepare some questions based on what I found in social networking online. I did, however, hear from my bishop."

"Really?" Alexis perked up. Liam had agreed to work for her, but that left his old position at the church empty and his own status as a priest of the Church of England in jeopardy. He had contacted the parish bishop, his boss, to see if he could retain his status, serving as a personal attaché to Alexis. The alchemist chuckled.

"They've essentially accepted my resignation," he said with a grin. Alexis felt her face fall as she slouched back in her seat.

"But you didn't submit a resignation."

Liam shook his head, still smiling.

"For all intents and purposes, I did. I'm no longer working under the direct influence of the church." He shrugged and turned back to the soup he was heating on the stove. "Think of it as quitting my day job to become a consultant. I'm still a priest. I'm just reduced to a flock of one…two, if you count the vampire, but that might qualify as sacrilege."

"More like he might take exception to being included in your flock."

Liam cast an amused grin over his shoulder.

"I don't know about that. Vlad Tsepish was a very religious man if the history books are at all accurate. How else would the pope of the time have managed to manipulate him into playing buffer zone between the Holy Roman Empire and the Ottomans?"

"That was my father, alchemist." Alexis looked over to see Alucard phase through the wall and wondered if Liam had mentioned him specifically to get his attention. They both knew Alucard could hear anything they said in the house, barring loud noises drowning it out.

"I fought the Ottomans because I _hated_ them."

"And because war is one of your favorite pastimes," Alexis said in a sardonic voice. Alucard grinned at her and swept his fedora off in an ironic bow.

"My master knows me well."

Alexis snorted and shook her head.

"I've barely scratched the surface of you. But, it wouldn't be as much fun if I could figure you out in a day."

Alucard paused and cocked his head to the side, a strange smile curling his lips. He crossed the room to stand over her, a touch of manic entering his expression. Alexis stared up at him, giving him calm eyes and a small, affectionate smile of her own. She had come to love that manic look of his. It almost always meant he was about to do or say something absolutely fascinating.

Alucard reached up to pull his ever-present sunglasses off. His red eyes glowed ever so slightly. He let his hands drop to his sides and gracefully sank down to one knee so his face was below hers and he had to tilt his head back to look up at her. The look on his face softened to a sort of mischievous wonderment. Alexis couldn't imagine anyone but Alucard achieving such an expression.

"You see more than you realize, my master."

Alexis tilted her head to the side. Something about his stance invited touching and she reached out to run her fingers through that shaggy black hair. Her thumb smoothed down the side of his face until she cupped the back of his jaw with her fingers lost in the hair at the back of his head. Alucard's eyes closed and he shivered but that beatific smile never left his face.

"You are like the ultimate puzzle that I'm not sure I'll ever solve entirely," she said, leaning forward. She tugged on him, bringing him closer and he moved at her urging with no resistance. Smiling, Alexis pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss. The vampire shuddered but didn't pull away, instead matching the pressure of her lips exactly.

Alexis pulled away, licking her lips. She'd figured out that he expected her to be the master of this dance and in many ways, that was a relief, but she was taking it slow, just enjoying the small moments of intimacy when she could. She didn't dare do anything to take any of their attention from the awareness that Stratonice could show up at any time, possibly in force.

The door bell rang.

Alexis looked up as Liam reached out to turn the stove off.

"That is probably Mr. Allen's son. I will show him into the front parlor while you eat."

He quickly served up the soup and a small loaf of ciabatta bread before heading out the door. Alucard rose and replaced his sunglasses, moving to lean against the wall. Alexis allowed her hand to trail down his duster before turning her attention to the soup and bread.

-ssSSss—

Mr. Jeffery Allen III looked bored and annoyed in his crisp black business suit as he sipped at the tea that Liam served. He made a face and glared at the mint tea that had become Alexis's favorite. He set the cup aside with an expression of distaste and transferred his glare to Alexis.

"Look, I'm sorry to disturb you this evening. My father is a brilliant investor and knows law inside and out, but I realize that his flights of fancy are a bit much, especially when it comes to the Hellsing fortune. I'll be happy to go over your portfolio with you, but I don't expect you to produce anything supernatural to procure my services."

He said it in such an exasperated tone that Alexis quickly lifted her own teacup to her lips to hide her smile. Somehow, she didn't think this man would appreciate her laughing at him.

Although she'd only met his father a couple of times, she could see the family resemblance. He had the same broad forehead and pronounced jaw as his father, but he had a full head of thick, dark brown hair cut in a short, professional style. His eyebrows were heavy and rather bushy over hazel eyes. Alexis wondered if he'd inherited better hair genetics form his mother or if he just hadn't grown into the same receding hairline his father sported.

"So, just to be sure I'm fully informed, what is it that your father told you to expect?"

Jeffery sighed and gave her a beseeching look.

"Do we really need to discuss that? It's not something I like to talk about."

"Humor me, please, Mr. Allen. After all, I've probably heard it from him, before."

"I suppose you're right." Jeffery paused, staring down at his hands splayed out on his knees. He looked like he really wanted to be fidgeting to help calm his nerves and was putting a concerted effort into keeping it under control. "Vampires. Heaven help me, he thinks the Hellsing fortune belongs to a vampire. It's utterly ridiculous."

"I should hope so," Alexis said, setting her teacup down. She steepled her fingers in front of her face and gave him a devilish smile. "After all, the fortune doesn't belong to the vampire anymore. He gave it to me."

Alexis suppressed a laugh as she watched Jeffery's face fall. Apparently he'd hoped for a break from the insanity.

"Oh, not you too," he groaned, sitting back in his chair with a fwump. His professional demeanor slipped and he gave her an angry frown. "Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?"

"Of course I do, but so does a duck billed platypus if you've never heard of them before. Your father is completely sane, and while my own sanity isn't always a hundred percent, I can assure you that my vampire is very, very real."

Jeffery sighed and then seemed to collect himself. He plastered a smile on his face that left his eyes cold and angry.

"Of course it is, Miss Montreve. What can I do for you this evening?"

Alexis couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing and had to set her teacup down to keep from spilling it. Jeffery's plastic smile shifted into a scowl and his eyes narrowed.

"If this is your idea of a joke, Miss Montreve, I'm afraid I do not appreciate the humor. If you would like, I can recommend an advisor with a more macabre sense of humor that might be a better fit for you."

Alexis had almost gotten herself under control, but that set her off again. The sheer irony of the situation just tweaked her funny bone.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, fighting back the hilarity as she swiped tears of mirth from the corners of her eyes. "I don't mean to insult you. You just look so _serious_." She dissolved into another fit of giggles as the man glared at her, outraged. He rose, his spine ramrod straight and his chin lifted.

"I'm sure this is all terribly amusing to you, Miss Montreve, but I do have work to do. I will take my leave."

"Oh, wait. Please. I'm sorry. Please wait." Alexis took a couple of hiccupping breaths and managed to push the laughter aside. "I confess that I _have_ been yanking your chain, but not in the way you think. See, there _is_ a vampire. I just shouldn't have waited this long to present you with the proof you so richly deserve."

Alexis sat back in her chair, lacing her fingers over her middle. She gave Jeffery a knowing look and lifted an eyebrow.

"Alucard, present yourself to our guest."

A low, highly amused chuckle echoed around the room and Jeffery's head whipped around, looking for the third person in the space with them. His eyes flicked over the wall that held the door in time to catch the white gloves with black alchemical symbols on the back phase through the wall. He froze as they were followed by the sleeves of the red duster and the brim of the red fedora. His knees buckled, spilling him back into the chair as Alucard finished stepping through the wall, teeth bared in a manic grin.

The vampire stalked across the room, reaching up to remove his orange lenses, his black hair floating around his face in an invisible breeze and bleeding to shadow in places. The red eyes revealed from behind the lenses glowed ever so slightly and Jeffery swallowed hard as Alucard came near. Alexis had to give him some credit. He didn't bolt for the windows.

"Alucard, to me. I think Mr. Allen is a little more inclined to believe us, now."

Alucard's head shifted, transferring that mad grin to Alexis as he turned away from the man gripping the arms of his chair as though they could save him from certain death. The vampire took two steps, placing himself in front of Alexis. He dropped to one knee in a smooth motion, head bowed to her.

"You summoned me, my master."

Alexis smiled. Yes, they were laying it on a little thick, but the white showing around Jeffery's irises told her that they had a new believer in the house. Keeping that smile on her face, she leaned forward and plucked the hat from Alucard's head. He didn't even twitch as she set it aside. She ran her fingers through his hair and down the side of his face, bringing his head up with a finger on his chin.

"Any further doubts, Mr. Allen?" She didn't even look at the man as she asked the question, instead ducking down to press her lips to Alucard's. She found that the more she did that, the more she liked it.

Jeffery made a choked sound low in his throat and Alexis pulled back from the chaste kiss, flicking her eyes in his direction.

"He…you…how did he…"

The man couldn't seem to complete a full sentence and Alexis lifted an eyebrow.

"That…wasn't a trick, was it?"

"No, Mr. Allen. Passing through walls is only the smallest fraction of Alucard's capabilities, but it _is_ rather showy without directly threatening your life. I do have uses for you, after all." She knew that the way she phrased that suggested that he might not make it out alive if he decided he didn't want to work with a vampire but Alexis didn't clarify. A healthy fear of Alucard and maybe her as well would go far in making sure the man never betrayed them.

"I…I see. Yes. Of course."

Jeffery gathered himself together with commendable aplomb. He smoothed his hands down the front of his black suit and took a deep breath.

"You realize, I…"

A loud, echoing thud interrupted him. Alucard's head came up, his nostrils flaring like a hound catching a scent. A manic grin blossomed across his face as two more thuds boomed from the direction of the foyer.

"She has arrived." Alucard's voice rang with anticipation and he rose, looking toward the front of the house with shining eyes. Alexis felt a cold wash of adrenaline spike through her. Although it had been her idea to summon Stratonice, she couldn't help the spurt of nerves that came at the thought of Alucard facing their nemesis again. She resisted the urge to ask if he was prepared and grabbed the lapels of his duster instead. His head swung around to face her again. She lifted her chin, tilting her head to the side as she held eye contact with him.

"Take what I can spare," she said. "I want you to crush her like the insect she is."

Alcuard's eyes flared as he ducked toward her throat. She knew she'd miss most of the fight once the venom kicked in but she didn't care. Her blood would strengthen him and she didn't want Stratonice to have even a snowball's chance in Hell of defeating him.

Alucard's fangs sank into her throat as his arms closed over her back. Her head lolled to the side and she caught sight of Jeffery, staring at them with his mouth gaping open. She had forgotten he was even there.

"Stay in the house," she said, "preferably close to me and Liam. Specifically Liam."

Another boom echoed through the house and Jeffery jumped, his gaze swinging fearfully toward the front of the house. Alexis let her eyes flutter closed as Alucard drew on the holes he'd pierced in her throat. She'd barely felt the pain, this time, switching almost immediately to that giddy euphoria that would soon drag her down into darkness. She tightened her grip on the vampire's duster, wanting to wrap her arms around his back but afraid she wouldn't have the strength to lift her arms if she let go. Already, she could feel the venom coursing through her veins.

The vampire pulled back from her throat, licking his lips. His eyes burned a brilliant scarlet as he looked down at the Ambrosian in his arms.

"Request release level restrictions."

Alexis blinked, puzzling out what he meant. It surfaced in her befuddled brain like air bubbles from a drowning swimmer. She had to release him from the seal to fight Stratonice. He was powerless without the release.

Alexis jerked, her eyes flying open as she feebly tried to strengthen her grip on Alucard's duster.

"Granted," she croaked out, "to level zero. You are released, Alucard, until Stratonice is reduced to dust. Crush her!"

-ssSSss—

Liam leaned in the doorway to the parlor, sweat beading on his forehead. He could feel the press of hundreds of vampires and FREAKs battering at his holy wards. It didn't help that the compulsion he'd placed on Stratonice had the effect of an open invitation, so the house no longer had its natural protection against the undead. Liam could only hold a ward the size of the Hellsing mansion against this kind of onslaught for so long, but he had bought them time for Alucard to feed and receive his orders. He only hoped that release to level zero really was the overkill he thought it might be.

"She's come in force, Alucard, and the house won't hold them back. The compulsion acts as an invitation."

The vampire looked at the priest, his master cradled in his arms. He stooped to set her in the chair and rose to his full height, lips pulled back from his fangs in a mad grin.

"I am the bird of Hermes."

The lights in the room seemed to dim and flicker as Alucard's hair lifted, suddenly much longer and floating about his face as though suspended in water. The tips of the strands bled into shadow as tendrils of darkness branched out from the corners of the floor, ceiling and walls. In the distance, voices wailed like the souls damned to Hell released upon the world to herald the end of times.

"I devoured my own wings."

The vampire lifted his gloved hands, red eyes wide and crazed as the shadows snaked about him like living, sentient things. Red eyes opened in the shadows, surprised and sly, calm and enraged, this one slit like a snake's, another with the pointed oval pupil of a cat. Some of those eyes seemed to hold entire worlds and universes in their depths. Liam felt the wards begin to buckle as the earth trembled and shuddered beneath his feet. He went to his knees, grasping at the door frame. It felt like the very demons of Hell battered at his ward. A high, angry shriek pierced the air, coming from the front doorstep.

"And that is how I was tamed."

Darkness engulfed the mansion in a massive wave. Jeffery screamed, but it was quickly lost in the howls and shrieks of the damned. A rushing, roaring sound echoed in their ears and a stiff wind swept through the house, ripping curtains from their moorings and knocking furniture about. Liam gasped as he felt the holy ward shatter, blowing outward from the sheer force of the power expanding within its bounds. A wild, raucous laugh echoed around them, manic and joyous. Liam keeled over on his side, wondering what, exactly, they had unleashed and whether anyone but Alexis would survive this incident. The power of his alchemy paled in the face of this force, like a candle trying to outshine the sun. He clenched his fist, trying to erect a small ward just around his own body. It snapped into place but immediately flickered and shattered under the battering storm of pure power.

Liam moaned and closed his eyes, curling into himself to create a smaller target. He tucked his head into his arms and prayed for survival.

On the front lawn of the Hellsing estate, blood flowed like water after the rain, soaking into the grass and coating the concrete of the front drive. An army of vampires and FREAKs that had come expecting to taste victory instead screamed with pain and terror. Their voices rose as one, a panicked roar of sound. They attempted to flee, only to be caught up in the dark jaws of the beast that had no form. No language on Earth could describe the hellish thing that whipped about the horde of invading monsters, ripping limbs apart and rending torsos into pieces. The crowd of undead that threatened the safety of his master fell like a bevy of sloops in the path of a hurricane. Alucard's dark, manic laugh echoed over the carnage as one by one, the screams died.

At the eye of the storm of darkness, a lone woman stood with chin raised high, dark eyes narrowed in hatred. Her body stood ramrod straight, shoulders back and lips peeled back in a snarl. A knot of snakes writhed at her feet and curled up her legs. A rock python coiled about her middle and Egyptian Cobras reared up over her shoulders, hoods spread in warning.

"Who are you?" she called out. "You reek of humanity. I came for Vlad and the Ambrosian, neither of which are human. Deliver them unto me and you and I may go our separate ways."

Dark laughter echoed out of the black maelstrom. Shreds of shadow drifted down like ash in the fallout from Pompeii. They coalesced, joining together to pick out a humanoid form that stepped forward, taking on the countenance of an ancient Wallachian Viovode. Dull, battle worn body armor glinted under the tatters of a once rich red cloak. A gaunt, pale face framed by shadowy curls that melded with the darkness all around glared down at her with a forbidding air. For a moment, the woman's eyes opened wide.

"Stratonice. Reaver. Medusa. I am Death, come to pave your way to Hell."

"No. It's not possible. You cannot wield this kind of power. You are not Vlad!" Shadows curled out from Stratonice's hair, serpentine heads with red, slitted eyes rearing back in a dark imitation of the fearsome gorgon of legend.

Alucard threw his head back, laughing as he clutched at his middle. His features ran like water, morphing into the younger visage that his Ambrosian master would recognize. The red cloak cleaved to his body becoming the duster that he'd sported for centuries. Dark tendrils of straighter hair whipped about his features.

"No, I am no longer the Wallachian prince that you once knew. I am the culmination of over a hundred years of human ingenuity. I am the No-Life king and Hellsing's trump card. I am the vampire Alucard!"

Stratonice watched him with calm eyes, a slow smile spreading across her face.

"So you are."

Alucard's laughter stopped cold. He wasn't accustomed to that tone of smug satisfaction coming from his enemies as he laughed at them on the battlefield. He had heard surprise, shock, anger, arrogance and superiority, but not…that.

"Did you enjoy your enslavement to Van Helsing?" Stratonice smiled, all traces of her previous shock and denial gone, a mask finally removed to reveal the mastermind beneath. "I thought it fitting that you should suffer enslavement while I rotted away in a hole."

Alucard frowned at her, his brow knit in consternation.

"You could not influence his mind from that distance, having never tasted his blood."

Stratonice chuckled.

"No, but my minions can. Did you forget about Lamia's children, Vlad? I see by your expression that you did."

Alucard scowled, shaking his head.

"They could not serve you. I destroyed them, down to the last child."

"You destroyed those that had come to Wallachia with me, and don't think I have forgotten. You still have yet to pay for that. However, my blood pact was with their tribe. I have stalked you through them for centuries!" Stratonice laughed at the expression on Alucard's face.

"Who do you think gave Van Helsing the idea that a vampire could be enslaved? Who do you think gave the Nazis the idea to create an army of the undead? Who do you think convinced the major that one Walter C. Dornez could be subverted to betray the very people that had sheltered and trained him and the vampire that had been his lifelong friend?"

Stratonice stepped forward, the snakes at her feet undulating behind her like the train of a ball gown. The maelstrom still raged around them, but it seemed weaker, almost uncertain.

"Quincey was one of mine, murmuring in Van Helsing's ear. You remember the doc and his research, no doubt. It was my Felice that kept Walter busy when Arthur died and young Integra fled for her life, seeking out the monster that slept in the Hellsing basement. I have been there, watching you through the eyes of my people, waiting for the day that you would know it had been _me_ all along."

Stratonice stopped in front of Alucard, looking up into his angry, confused eyes.

"_Now_, you understand, my prince. You believed me defeated, but from the moment you left me in that hole, I plotted my revenge. Still, I must say, even I could not engineer the tragedy that your own fledgling visited upon you. That was a beautiful piece of work, I must say. Tell me, Vlad. What did it feel like to destroy the ghoul of the woman you loved?"

The maelstrom swirling about them dissipated as Alucard's fists clenched and he snarled with old pain reawakened. The bodies of Stratonice's army littered the blood soaked lawn but she ignored them as she reached up to cup Alucard's face. She gave him a smile that was more than half smirk and turned to stalk around him, one hand trailing across his chest.

"She was pathetically easy to manipulate, if a little narrow minded once set upon a certain path. It took some time to destroy the lingering vestiges of honor and affection she felt for you, but she made a tolerable minion once I was done."

Alucard shuddered under the touch of her hand as she circled around him, running her fingers over his back. His hands clenched as though he would rather wrap them around her throat and didn't dare.

"You left her half mad with grief, you know. She didn't hate you at first, but a word here, an innocent observation, there, and Seras quickly fell into line."

Stratonice stopped in front of him and cocked her head to the side.

"Have you ever cared for anyone that you didn't destroy?" she asked, reaching up to touch his cheek again. "Your wife in Wallachia, your people, Mina, Seras, Walter and every Hellsing since Abraham. Everything you touch turns to dust in your hands. Give me the Ambrosian. She will only suffer as your pet. Give her to me and I will forgive all wrong between us. Give her to me and I will make her a queen in her own right while you are free to go your own way."

Alucard scowled down at his old mentor. He reached up to grasp the hand that touched his cheek, running a gloved thumb over those delicate fingers. A soft smile spread across Stratonice's face, a touch of gloating triumph lurking around its edges.

"This is the best way," she said.

Alucard chuckled as his hand closed over hers. That chuckle grew into a full laugh and the soft smile dropped from Stratonice's face. She tried to pull her hand away and could not budge it from Alucard's grip. The laugh erupted into wild guffaws as shadows swirled down his arm, plunging into Stratonice's wrist. Her eyes flew wide, her mouth opening in a silent scream.

"As tempting as your proposal is, Stratonice, I'm afraid I must decline." Alucard tightened his hand on hers, grinding the bones together as he gave her a wicked grin. "You see, that Ambrosian is my master and she has ordered me to destroy you. There is no other option."

Stratonice's back arched as those shadows poured into her flesh, all the power of the maelstrom channeled into her being. The ancient vampire jerked and spasmed as though it was a downed power line wrapped around her hand.

Alucard threw his head back in wild, raucous laughter as he poured his seal-enhanced essence into and through his enemy. The Egyptian Cobras poised over her shoulders hissed and struck but they fell through the red-clad body as it dissolved into shadow. Tendrils of darkness wrapped around Stratonice's body, enveloping her and the serpents that served her. The wild laughter tapered off into a low, dark chuckle as the shadows collapsed in on themselves and then reformed into the red-clad body of the grinning vampire.

"Stratonice, you fool. You should know that it is not I, alone, that destroyed the people I have cared for, but their own choices. Like them, Alexis will make her choices and she will face the consequences of them as they come."


	34. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Alexis groaned as her eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was a pair of brilliant scarlet eyes watching her. A smile instantly curled across her face.

"You won," she said, reaching for the vampire sitting on the edge of her bed. Alucard ducked down to press his cheek into her palm.

"Stratonice is gone, my master. Utterly destroyed."

"What about Jeffery? Is he okay?"

"Mr. Allen is fine, if a little damp about the crotch area." Alexis turned her head to see Liam sitting next to a laden tea trolley, sipping tea. "He is resting in the guest room while I have his clothing dry cleaned."

Alexis laughed as she trailed her fingers along Alucard's jaw.

"Am I going to have to ask Mr. Allen senior to recommend someone else?"

Liam took another sip of tea.

"Actually, I think not. He was scared out of his wits, but he has recovered with respectable poise. I think this may simply be the irrefutable proof he needed of what it is that he serves. I suspect that he will never doubt the existence of vampires again."

Alexis laughed.

"I should hope not."

-ssSSss—

The sun settled below the horizon as Alexis took a swig from the bottle on the table beside her. She looked out across the garden full of turned earth, mulch and young plants. Freshly stained wood made up the gazebo that sheltered her and a couple of dark green leaves marked the location of the ivy that was being trained to grow up the posts of the gazebo. The gardener that Liam hired had already done wonders with the garden and Alexis couldn't wait to see it in full bloom next year.

A door opened and closed in the distance and Alexis heard the crunch of shoes on gravel. She glanced over to see Liam headed her way with a fresh bottle of lager on his tray and a small bowl of pretzels.

"How did you know?" Alexis smiled as she finished off the last of her drink and accepted the new one from her friend.

"I know _you_," he said with a smile, "and I might have noticed the angle you were drinking from while I was passing through the parlor."

Alexis chuckled. There was no reason for Liam to be in the parlor unless he was checking on her.

"Join me. I'd like to talk."

Nodding, the alchemist set his tray on the table and pulled up a chair.

"I finished the last journal," she said, tapping the closed binder on the table beside her. "Of course, I don't know the details of Integra Hellsing's death. There was only a note that she had passed away in a car accident and the Hellsing organization was disbanded."

Alexis stopped, looking out over the garden in thought.

"I want you to read the journals, Liam, and then I want your help. I want to rebuild Hellsing. There's a lot we could do. Alucard is sealed again and it seems pointless to let his powers go to waste. It also wouldn't do to let him get too bored."

Liam laughed and they shared a conspiratorial grin.

"I would be happy to help, Alexis, but I'm not sure there really is much for us to do," Liam said, shaking his head. "Like I said when we first met, England is possibly the quietest country in the world when it comes to supernatural threats."

"Yes, I know," Alexis said, "but I suspect that has a lot to do with Alucard as well. There are things for us to do. England is not the only country in the world. She has territories and allies that could use our help. If Alucard and Stratonice exist, then there are others, potentially as powerful that could cause as much or more damage than either of those. If nothing else, we would continue to police the UK and protect it from supernatural threats. Hell, they could probably use us on the human front. England isn't exactly free of violent crime. I should know."

Alexis fell silent. She hadn't told him the story of the murder she had committed, but he knew there was something in her past that involved the death of her father and baby brother. She wasn't sure when she would tell him, if ever. For now, he knew enough.

"You know I've signed on for the long haul, Alexis. I'll be happy to help you rebuild Hellsing."

"Excellent."

The two of them fell silent, deep in thought as Alexis sipped at the lager and the light of the setting sun faded from the western sky. She felt her vampire wake and a smile spread across her face.

"Alucard," she said under her breath, knowing he would sense her desire for him to join them. Moments later, the vampire's tall form appeared, moving through the garden as the hem of the duster swirled in the breeze left by his rapid passage. He mounted the steps of the gazebo, standing over the two of them with an anticipatory look in his eyes. Was he aware of what they had been discussing?

Smiling, Alexis set her bottle of lager aside and rose. She crossed the small space that separated them and reached up to smooth her palms down the lapel of his duster.

"I've discussed it with Liam," she said, "And we're going to rebuild Hellsing. I don't know if it will ever be what it was in Integra's time."

Alexis paused, looking up into Alucard's face, struck by how much he towered over her. She didn't often think about the difference in their heights except to appreciate that she fit perfectly under his chin when she hugged him. She'd never been able to do that with anyone else she'd dated.

He gave her calm eyes that seemed to hold an eager spark in their depths. Alexis smiled and gave in to the urge to wrap her arms around him and press her cheek against his chest. The vampire's gloved hands smoothed down her back and she sighed, letting her eyes drift closed as she squeezed.

"I'm not Integra. I don't know what Hellsing will become under my influence, but I can at least promise it will be more than it is, now."

Alexis pulled back so that she could look up into Alucard's face. His hands stayed on her back, holding her close but not so tight that he couldn't quickly release her if she indicated that was what she wished.

"In this, especially, I will not be like Integra. You may be my servant and I your master under the seal, but in my heart we are partners. If you do not want Hellsing rebuilt, now is the time to tell me."

Alucard grinned and without a moment's hesitation, he went to one knee in front of her, head bowed and fly away black hair concealing his features.

"I am your servant, my master. I answer to your commands. I would serve Hellsing again under your leadership, sealed or otherwise."

Alexis smiled and reached down to sink her fingers into that black hair. She tilted his head up until their eyes met and his grin flashed fangs.

"That's all I needed to hear." Alexis stooped to press her lips to his. The vampire growled softly in the back of his throat as he kissed her back, gloved hands coming up to trace her cheekbones, down her jaw and down again to touch the pulse fluttering in her throat. Alexis smiled against his lips and chuckled.

"Yes, Alucard. I dreamed of you, today."

She pulled away from the kiss and ran a thumb along his bottom lip. Those gleaming white fangs seemed to grow sharper as she watched and Alucard's red eyes latched onto her throat.

"Are you hungry, my servant?"

"Yes, my master."

Alexis tugged him toward her throat, sighing as his lips touched her skin.

"Then feed, Alucard. I release you to drink from your master."

Alucard's arms tightened around her as his fangs sliced into her throat, bringing the vampire ambrosia in her veins flowing into his mouth. Alexis jerked at that initial sting and then relaxed into his embrace as his lips sealed around the wound. She ran her fingers through his hair as he drank her down and realized she'd never felt so content in her life. She tilted her head to press her cheek against the silky hair and sighed.

"Thank-you, vampire. Thank-you for my life and thank-you for my happiness. I am forever yours as much as you are mine."

His arms tightened around her and she could almost feel a contentment that matched her own resonating through the bond of the seal. No, she would probably never hear the words 'I love you' cross his lips, but she didn't need to. She had this, and it was more than enough.

Fin

**A/N: And, there it is. I have really loved writing this story. It's been a real challenge to create the romance between Alexis and Alucard and keep Alucard in character. I do believe I've pulled it off. I think it helps that what most people would find irritating about the vampire, she finds amusing, but I do believe that just about anyone can find love. It's just a matter of finding the other half of the equation that fits. Thank you, all of you that have stuck with me and left reviews. I've gotten some questions about a sequel and I think I'd enjoy writing one, just not right now. I'm going to let it percolate while I work on my original stuff and if I can pull out a decent plot, I may write it. Until then, toodles and goodbye. *hugs***

**-Falconstorm**


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